WHO chief thinks COVID-19 emergency will be lifted this year

The U.N. health agency continues to consider COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern more than three years after its original assessment.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday he expected the organisation to lift the emergency status of COVID-19 sometime this year, without giving a more specific time frame.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference on the World Health Organization's 75th anniversary in Geneva, on April 6. (AFP)

The U.N. health agency continues to consider COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern more than three years after its original assessment.

"I think we will be able to lift it this year," said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. The expert committee on the pandemic's status is next due to meet in May.