The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency. The announcement marks a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least seven million people worldwide.
The WHO said that even though the emergency phase is over, the pandemic has not come to an end, noting recent spikes in cases in south-east Asia and the Middle East. The UN health agency said that thousands of people are still dying from the virus every week.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “It’s with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over as a global health emergency. That does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat.”
