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The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief has stated that he hopes Covid-19 will no longer be a global health emergency by next year.
According to Xinhua, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated at a press conference in Geneva that the WHO Covid-19 Emergency Committee will discuss the criteria for declaring an end to the Covid-19 emergency next month.
“We’re hopeful that by the end of next year, Covid-19 will no longer be a global health emergency,” he said.
However, he added that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is to blame for the Covid-19 pandemic, will not go away.
“It’s here to stay, and all countries will need to learn to manage it alongside other respiratory illnesses including influenza and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), both of which are now circulating intensely in many countries,” he said.
One of the most important lessons from the pandemic, according to the WHO chief, is that all countries must strengthen their public health systems in order to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond quickly to outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.
Another important lesson is the importance of much stronger collaboration in collaboration, rather than the competition and confusion that characterized the global response to Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, warned that waves of infection and re-infection would continue around the world, with countries reporting 8,000 to 10,000 new deaths each week.
Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, warned that no one knows how the SARS-CoV-2 virus will evolve in the future, and such uncertainties add to risks.
Before the WHO chief declares the Covid-19 emergency over, a balance must be struck between the virus — including its impact and unpredictability — and “whether or not we have dealt with the vulnerabilities and resilience issues in our health systems,” according to Ryan.
Source:OCN
