WHO: COVID-19 emergency over

The World Health Organization (WHO)declared;that COVID-19 is no longer a "global health emergency."

The announcement comes more than three years after the WHO designated COVID-19 as a pandemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said COVID-19 caused;seven million;confirmed deaths but noted that the real death toll is "likely" closer to 20 million.
- One in six COVID deaths occurred in the U.S.
The global death rate for the virus peaked at ~100,000 deaths per week in January 2021.
- Last week, just over 3,500 people died of COVID-19.
Tedros said COVID-19 is still a threat and warned that WHO could declare another emergency if the death toll rises.
He said that "a lack of coordination, a lack of equity, and lack of solidarity" hampered the global response to COVID-19 and that lessons learned from the pandemic should inform preparations for future global health crises.