WHO downgrades coronavirus, says it is no longer a global pandemic

World Health Organization (WHO) said that COVID no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions of people worldwide.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic had been on a downward trend for more than a year. However, the agency’s officials warned that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn’t ended, keeping in mind the recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. WHO said thousands are still dying from COVID every week, while millions are suffering long-term effects.

When the UN health agency first declared the coronavirus to be an international crisis on January 30, 2020, it hadn’t yet been named COVID-19 and there were no major outbreaks beyond China.