Coronavirus

Covid-19 no longer a global health emergency - WHO

Stephen Donnelly and Chief Medical Officer welcome declaration that brings ‘symbolic end’ to pandemic

“It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. Picture: AFP via Getty

The World Health Organization said on Friday that Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns.

According to the outlet, WHO said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn’t come to an end, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The agency says that thousands of people are still dying from the virus ...