GLOBALink | COVID-19 no longer int'l health emergency: WHO

GENEVA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the WHO's highest alert level.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, made the announcement at a virtual press conference from Geneva.

The WHO first gave COVID-19 its highest level of alert on Jan. 30, 2020, and a panel of global health experts has continued to apply the label ever since, at meetings held every three months.

In March 2020, WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic while the novel coronavirus continued to spread worldwide.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service