The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, marking a symbolic end to a pandemic that claimed nearly seven million lives and disrupted the world for over three years.
“It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “But that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat.”
The decision follows a meeting of WHO’s expert committee on Thursday, which recommended lifting the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) designation—the organization’s highest level of alert.
Dr. Tedros emphasized that while the emergency phase is over, the virus still poses risks, particularly from new variants. He also reflected on the pandemic’s toll, which shattered economies and pushed millions into poverty.
WHO first labeled COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, although many scientists had already recognized the scale of the crisis by then. Since the outbreak began, over 764 million cases have been recorded globally, and approximately five billion people have received at least one vaccine dose.
The move to end the emergency is largely administrative. While it eases global reporting and response obligations, countries like the UK—where COVID is no longer among the top causes of death—have already transitioned to a “living with COVID” strategy.
In under-resourced regions, however, the change could help redirect attention and healthcare resources toward other pressing health challenges, including HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, credited the shift to the success of vaccines and treatments. “We continue to monitor the virus and are prepared to respond if the risk increases in the future,” she said.
The NHS COVID app has already been switched off and will be discontinued completely on May 16.
The WHO’s announcement marks a historic moment—a formal close to the global emergency response to a virus that has changed the world.
