WHO declares end to Covid-19 pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Covid-19 no longer represented global health emergency at a press conference on 5 May
The announcement follows a decision by the agency to reduce its alert level, following a meeting of experts the previous day.
A similar WHO committee meeting took place in January 2023, however no decision to end the global emergency was ultimately made.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated: “It is with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over as a global health emergency.” However, he added that the decision ‘does not mean Covid-19 is over as a global health threat’, acknowledging that the risk of new variants still remained.
The declaration follows a steady downward trend in Covid-19 cases over the past year, with most countries now operating without any additional pandemic-era measures in place.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor for Voyageur Group, joining in 2021. He writes for both ITIJ and AirMed&Rescue, covering a range of topics including international travel and health insurance, medical assistance provision and air medical transportation. He also serves as Title Editor of the Assistance & Repatriation Reviews. Oliver holds an MA in Magazine Journalism from Cardiff University, as well as a BA in English with Creative Writing from Falmouth University.