World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference on the World Health Organization's 75th anniversary in Geneva, on April 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest alert level.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, made the announcement at a virtual press conference from Geneva.
The WHO first gave COVID-19 its highest level of alert on Jan 30, 2020, and a panel of global health experts has continued to apply the label ever since, at meetings held every three months.
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In March 2020, WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic while the novel coronavirus continued to spread worldwide.