WHO says COVID-19 is not over; sets five focus areas with a warning

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a global emergency. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, WHO director-general, said, “This pandemic has surprised us before and very well may again.”The statement comes amid new sub-variants sparking concern in some parts of the world, a month after Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had said that the end of the pandemic is “in sight”.Five priority areas were highlighted by the global health body’s committee to end the emergency which include tracking variants of Covid, surging medical capacity to treat patients, vaccination, ensuring access to affordable therapeutics and a robust global pandemic preparedness architecture.WHO warned, “Although the public perception is that the pandemic is over in some parts of the world, it remains a public health event that continues to adversely and strongly affect the health of the world’s population.”