The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the lifting of the global health emergency associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Experts say this is an important step toward recognizing the full end of the coronavirus pandemic.
Exactly three years ago, in the spring of 2020, the spread of the disease reached a level that forced the WHO to declare a global public health emergency. “Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I am following this advice,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday.
People are still dying from coronavirus in various countries, but the mortality rate has dropped significantly. At the peak of infection in January 2021, it reached over 100,000 people per week worldwide, and in April of this year, it was about 3,500 people per week. Overall, the pandemic has killed at least 20 million people. The hardest-hit countries include India, the United States, France, and countries in Latin America.
In December 2019, messages began to arrive from China about cases of a viral disease of unknown origin. The number of infections increased so rapidly that the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, 2020.
Vaccination has played a major role in controlling the pandemic. By the end of the winter, an epidemic had already struck some regions of Europe, particularly northern Italy. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the ongoing situation a pandemic.
Over the past three years, the pandemic has affected almost every country in the world in some way. At different times and for different lengths of time, many of them have implemented measures to limit the spread of the infection, ranging from mandatory vaccinations to complete lockdowns.
As of May 4, 2023, more than 765 million cases of coronavirus infection have been officially reported worldwide, with more than 6.9 million confirmed deaths, making the current pandemic one of the deadliest in history. However, taking into account dubious statistics in some countries, the WHO estimates the total number of deaths directly or indirectly related to the pandemic at approximately 15 million people, which is generally consistent with the results of other studies.
The news will be updated.