The COVID-19 global health emergency is over

for the past year , the emergency committee and who have been analysing the data carefully and considering when the time would be right to lower the level of alarm .

Yesterday , the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern .

I have accepted that advice .

It is therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency .

However , that does not mean that COVID-19 is over as a global health threat .

Last week , COVID-19 claimed live every three minutes .

And that's just this we know about as we speak .

Thousands of people around the world are fighting for their lives in intensive care units , and millions more continue to live with the debilitating effects of post COVID-19 conditions .

This virus is here to stay .

It's still killing , and it's still changing .

The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and does the worst thing any country could do now is to use this news as a reason to let down its guard , to dismantle the systems it has built or to send the message to its people that COVID-19 is nothing to worry about .