The WHO’s COVID-19 emergency committee unanimously underlined that the virus remained a severe public health threat and that governments must not relax their guard.
The World Health Organization’s committee of specialists warned the pandemic was far from over, despite several countries relaxing public health and social precautions and dramatically cutting viral testing.
“Now is not the time to let our guard down — on the contrary, and this is an extremely strong recommendation,” committee chair Didier Houssin told a press conference.
“The situation is far from over with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, the circulation of the virus is still very active, mortality remains high, and the virus is evolving in an unpredictable way,” he warned.
“Now is not the time for relaxation on this virus, nor weakness in surveillance, testing, and reporting, nor laxity in public and social health measures and no resignation when it comes to vaccination.”
Every three months, the group meets to discuss the epidemic and reports to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), the highest level of alert the WHO can issue.
WHO: COVID-19 still a global emergency
On January 30, 2020, the committee labeled the COVID-19 epidemic a PHEIC, even though less than 100 illnesses and no deaths had been documented outside China.
Although it is the globally agreed-upon method for launching an international response to such outbreaks, many countries only became aware of the threat after Tedros described the developing situation as a pandemic on March 11.
“The committee unanimously agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic still constitutes an extraordinary event that continues to adversely affect the health of populations around the world, poses an ongoing risk of international spread,” it said.
Globally, the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths fell for the third week in a row in the week ending Sunday, with over seven million cases and over 22,000 deaths reported.
Since the pandemic’s beginning, this was the lowest number of COVID-19 deaths.
However, some nations are still seeing significant increases in cases, placing strain on hospitals, according to Tedros, who added that the world is “still in the heart of the pandemic.”
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