The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the end of the global emergency status for COVID-19 more than three years after its initial declaration. The organization stated that countries should now focus on managing the virus, which has caused the death of more than 6.9 million people, along with other infectious diseases.

The Emergency Committee recommended to the WHO to declare an end to the pandemic as a "public health emergency of international concern," its highest level of alert since January 30, 2020. However, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that this did not mean that COVID-19 was over as a global health threat. Some members of the WHO became emotional during the conference call to brief the press, urging countries to reflect on the lessons learned during the pandemic.

WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, emphasized the importance of remembering the lives lost to the virus, stating that the memories of the fire pyres and graves dug during the pandemic must not be forgotten.

Although there has been a significant decrease in the number of deaths compared to the peak in January 2021, which is attributed to the widespread availability of vaccines, improved treatments, and the development of population immunity from prior infections, the WHO officials, including emergencies director, Michael Ryan, caution that the battle against the virus is not over.

They warn that weaknesses in the system will still be exposed by the virus or potentially other viruses, and these weaknesses must be addressed to prevent future pandemics. Ending the emergency could also result in a reduction or shift in international collaboration and funding efforts, although many have already adapted as the pandemic recedes in different regions.

The WHO doesn't usually declare the start or end of pandemics, but it did use the term for COVID in March 2020.

According to the WHO's emergencies director, Michael Ryan, pandemics often end when the next one begins. Last year, US President Joe Biden declared the pandemic was over and the US has started ending its domestic state of emergency for COVID, which means it will stop paying for vaccines and testing for many people and shift responsibility to the commercial market.

Similarly, the European Union declared the emergency phase of the pandemic over in April 2020, and other regions have taken similar steps.

The decision by the WHO to declare the end of the pandemic may be seen as controversial, given that COVID-19 continues to be a significant global health threat with new variants emerging and some countries experiencing surges in cases.

However, the WHO's announcement may also signal a shift in the approach to the pandemic, with an increasing focus on long-term strategies to live with the virus rather than short-term emergency measures.

The WHO's new plan aims to help countries manage the pandemic in the long term, with recommendations on measures such as testing, tracing, and isolating cases, as well as vaccine distribution and monitoring for new variants.

According to infectious disease experts, COVID-19 will remain a long-term challenge for health systems globally, including issues related to long COVID. Even though the WHO has declared the end of the pandemic, it doesn't mean that COVID-19 is no longer a problem. As epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse from the University of Edinburgh points out, COVID-19 is still a significant public health problem and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.