The World Health Organization said today (Friday) that the COVID-19 pandemic no longer constitutes a "health emergency of international concern."

This was announced by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, at a virtual press conference from Geneva.

The World Health Organization first declared COVID-19 a health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert, on January 30, 2020, and a panel of health experts has maintained the status since then, meeting every three months.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization called COVID-19 a pandemic, while the novel coronavirus was continuing to spread around the world.