WHO exploring when and how to declare end of Covid emergency

Researchers have warned that even if Covid 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 TB

Public health experts at the World Health Organization have begun discussing how and when to call an end to the global Covid-19 crisis, exploring what would be an important milestone more than two years after the emergence of the virus.

The WHO said it isn’t currently considering such a declaration. 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