Six months after declaring public health emergency over COVID-19, WHO to set to reexamine status

The World Health Organization(WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said when public health emergency was declared on January 30, the highest level of alarm under international law – there were less than 100 cases outside China and no deaths.

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"I will reconvene the Emergency Committee later this week to re-evaluate the pandemic," the UN health body's chief said.

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On Thursday, the WHO will mark six months since it declared a "public health emergency of international concern".

The WHO chief said that it was the sixth global health emergency declared under the International Health Regulations and was the most "severe".

Tedros asserted that "COVID-19 has changed our world" while emphasising that it has both brought "people, communities and nations together and driven them apart."

Tedros lauded the efforts of New Zealand, Thailand, Viet Nam, Cambodia and the Caribbean countries for preventing large-scale outbreaks and other countries - China, Canada, South Korea and Germany for bringing large outbreaks under control.

"The most fundamental ingredients for stopping this virus is determination, and the willingness to make hard choices to keep ourselves and each other safe," Tedros said.

Tedros asked people to follow social distancing, wash hands, avoid crowded places and wear masks in order to combat the virus.

"Almost 16 million cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 640,000 deaths as the pandemic continues to accelerate. In the past 6 weeks, the total number of cases has roughly doubled, WHO chief informed.