COVID-19 AND EMERGENCY – SCI & TECH
News: COVID-19
no longer a global emergency, says WHO
What's in the news?
● The
World Health Organization said that
COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end
to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable
lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people
worldwide.
Key takeaways:
● WHO
said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn't come to
an end, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
● The
U.N. health agency says that thousands of people are still dying from the virus
every week.
● The
U.N. health agency first declared the coronavirus to be an international crisis
on Jan. 30, 2020, it hadn't yet been named COVID-19 and there were no major
outbreaks beyond China.
● More
than three years later, the virus has caused an estimated 764 million cases
globally and about 5 billion people have received at least one dose of vaccine.
Public Health Emergency of International Concern
(PHEIC):
● Under
the International Health Regulations (IHR), a public health emergency is
defined as “an extraordinary event
which is determined, as provided in these Regulations - to constitute a public health risk to other States through
the international spread of disease; and to potentially require a coordinated
international response”.
Global Emergencies so far:
● WHO
has previously declared global emergencies for outbreaks of swine flu, Zika, Ebola, polio, and
monkeypox.
● Polio
was declared nearly nine years ago, and its emergency status has persisted even
as officials work to wipe out the disease from a shrinking number of countries.
● MPOX
was declared a global emergency last July but technically remains a global
emergency.
Criteria for PHEIC:
● PHEIC
is declared in the event of some “serious
public health events” that may endanger international public health.
Declared by:
● The
responsibility of declaring an event as an emergency lies with the Director-General of the WHO and
requires the convening of a committee of members.
Impacts:
● Declaring
a PHEIC may lead to restrictions on
travel and trade for the host country.