Covid-19 No Longer A Global Health Emergency, Says WHO

The coronavirus — that killed over 6.9 million people across the world — is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization(WHO) said on Friday.

The coronavirus was first decaled as an emergency three years back on January 30, 2020.

“With great hope,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said,”I declare Covid-19 over as a global emergency.”

“Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” he said.

The WHO said that since the past three years, “Covid-19 has turned our world upside down.”

The pandemic caused severe economic upheaval, erasing trillions from GDP, disrupting travel and trade, shuttering businesses, and plunging millions into poverty”

The WHO’s Emergency Committee met on Thursday and recommended that the UN-agency declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO said “1,221 days ago, WHO learned of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China.”

“On the 30th January 2020, on the advice of an Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of #COVID19 – the highest level of alarm under international law,” it added.

On what basis has the WHO announced this?

The global emergency tag was taken from coronavirus as it was on a “downward trend” for over a year now.

The WHO said, “for more than a year, the pandemic has been on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing. This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before

“For the past year, the Emergency Committee – and WHO – have been analysing the data carefully and considering when the time would be right to lower the level of alarm,” it highlighted.

The status helps focus international attention on a health threat, as well as bolstering collaboration on vaccines and treatments.

Lifting it is a sign of the progress the world has made in these areas, but Covid-19 is here to stay, the WHO has said, even if it no longer represents an emergency.

Covid-19 in India

In India, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded till now was at 4.49 crore.

The country has seen 5,31,606 deaths since the pandemic began.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,43,92,828 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.

According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday, India logged 3,962 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases have decreased to 36,244 from 40,177

With agency inputs

Read all the Latest News here