The World Health Organization no longer considers COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern and has brought an end to an emergency declaration that has been in place since January 2020.
COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared.
The United Nations agency’s announcement (opens in new tab), made after a Thursday (May 4) meeting of the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee, means that COVID-19 is no longer considered a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC), the highest alert level the body can issue.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a May 5 news conference that it was “with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency.” However, he cautioned “that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat.”
