Covid-19 still a global health emergency, says WHO as new Omicron subvariants emerge

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that Covid-19 remains a global emergency nearly two and a half years after the disease was first declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus referred in a press conference on July 13, 2022, to a statement released by the UN health body’s emergency committee of independent experts who said the continued emergency is warranted because of rising cases, ongoing evolution of the coronavirus and pressure on health services in a number of countries. Cases reported to the WHO had risen by 30 per cent since late June, according to the July 12 statement. But the committee acknowledged that increased population immunity had led to a “decoupling” of infections from hospitalisations and deaths.