Coronavirus: WHO discusses how, when to declare Covid-19 emergency over

Discussions are focusing on what conditions would eventually signal the end of the public health emergency the WHO declared on January 30, 2020

Such a declaration would be a meaningful symbolic step, and add momentum to the rollback of many pandemic-era public health policies

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A sign for the World Health Organization at the entrance of its headquarters in Geneva. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

Published: 2:27pm, 12 Mar 2022

Public health experts at the World Health Organization have begun discussing how and when to call an end to the global Covid-19 crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.

The WHO isn’t currently considering such a declaration, according to the people. While cases have fallen in many places, fatalities have spiked in Hong Kong, and this week China reported more than 1,000 new daily cases for the first time in two years.

Instead, the discussions at the Geneva-based agency are focusing on what conditions would eventually signal that the public health emergency declared on January 30, 2020, is over, said the people, who asked not to be named because the meetings are not public. Such a declaration would not only be a meaningful symbolic step, but also add momentum to the rollback of many pandemic-era public health policies.

A woman is vaccinated against the Covid-19 in Berlin this week. Cases in Germany recently rebounded to near record levels. Photo: EPA

Many nations around the world have already taken steps to return to more normal social behaviours, relaxing masking and quarantine guidelines, and opening borders to travel. Still, many countries in Asia are reporting record levels of transmission, and in Germany cases recently rebounded to near record levels.

Researchers have also warned that even if Covid-19 cases fall to lower levels, the disease is still likely to cause thousands of deaths annually, not unlike other endemic illnesses such as malaria and tuberculosis. And the potential for new, dangerous variants is unpredictable.

The WHO’s discussions could have implications for drug makers such as Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. that have agreed to allow generic competition to their Covid-19 treatments until the pandemic ends. Vaccine makers including AstraZeneca Plc have said they will keep prices for their products low until the pandemic ends, without specifying what the benchmark for that would be.