Covid-19 not a public health emergency anymore: WHO

What this news means is that it is time for countries to transition from emergency mode to managing Covid-19 alongside other infectious diseases, says Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

The death rate has slowed from a peak of more than 100,000 people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 in the week

Covid-19 pandemic has killed more than 6.9 million people, disrupted the global economy and ravaged communities.

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The World Health Organisation on Friday said that Covid-19 was no longer a ‘public health emergency of international concern’, the highest level of alarm of the inter-government agency that was raised for the novel coronavirus on January 30, 2020. From its first spread in Wuhan, China, over 76.5 crore cases and 69.2 lakh deaths have been reported from across the world.

WHOs Emergency Committee in its 15th meeting said that the declining number of hospitalisations due to Covid-19 and high population-level immunity meant it was time to transition to long term management of the pandemic. “While the global risk assessment remains high, there is evidence of reducing risks to human health driven mainly by high population-level immunity from infection, vaccination, or both,” the WHO said.

On Friday, the WHO, also highlighted that while Covid virus continues to evolve, the currently circulating variants, which also include the highly infectious Omicron, do not appear to be associated with increased severity.

LIVE: Media briefing on #COVID19 and global health issues with @DrTedros https://t.co/eNfCX95RaG

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 5, 2023

After Friday’s decision, in India, which at present is reporting a surge in fresh cases, the public health response to Covid-19 will continue to focus on the identification of emerging hotspots and monitor trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). States have been asked for regular updation of data to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, to quickly control the emerging spread of infection.

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“WHO’s decision to declare an end to the global public health emergency caused by Covid-19 is a well-judged response to the changed situation after the variant Omicron has established itself as the dominant and durable variant over the 18 months since it emerged. Despite its high transmissibility and immune evasion capacity, it has manifested reduced virulence. With low rates of severe illness, hospitalisation, and death, this variant has no longer imposed severe stress on health and social systems which are also now better prepared to counter the virus. Under these circumstances, the label of a public health emergency is no longer justified. However, we must continue to be vigilant against more virulent variants through strong surveillance and strengthened health systems.” Dr K Srinath Reddy, Distinguished Professor, Public Health Foundation of India, and who also served as member in India’s Covid-19 task force told The Indian Express.

A statement from the WHO on Friday said, “The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the committee regarding the on-going Covid-19 pandemic. He determines that Covid-19 is now an established and on-going health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern,” essentially ending the pandemic on paper.

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“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”-@DrTedros #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/esKKKOb1TZ

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 5, 2023

The committee will meet again to issue recommendations for long-term management of Covid-19, with the countries advised to continue following the temporary recommendations as of now.

India has recorded 4.43 crore cases and 5.3 lakh deaths due to Covid-19 so far. In India, the virus caused three distinct waves of infection.

The first wave in 2020 resulted in the government halting international travel and instituting a lock-down within the country to stop the spread. The second wave in April-May of 2021 was the most devastating, with young people also developing lung complications. The second wave was marked by hospitals running out of beds, oxygen, and even manpower.

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India saw the last large wave of infections in January of 2022 when the first omicron sub-variants came to the country. The wave was characterised by upper respiratory tract symptoms, with a reduced incidence of pneumonia as compared to the previous delta variant-driven wave.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More