On May 5, 2023, the World Health Organization WHO ended the international emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic due to the significant drop in serious cases and deaths worldwide. The WHO director-general announced the decision following a meeting of the organization’s emergency committee on May 4 to discuss the current situation of the pandemic. The pandemic has affected at least 765 million people and killed about 20 million people in more than three years. In Spain, face masks are still mandatory in, for example, pharmacies, nursing homes and hospitals.
According to official figures the disease has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide since it was declared a health emergency on January 30, 2020, as serious cases and deaths began to rise worldwide. The WHO however, estimates that the true number of deaths could be much higher and could be as high as 20 million. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been more than 765 million confirmed cases according to WHO data. While Europe has generally had the highest number of confirmed cases, the Americas have seen the highest number of deaths.
In December 2022, Covid-19 cases peaked as the omicron variant spread around the world, hitting the western Pacific particularly hard. Developed in record time, the vaccine has enabled billions of doses around the world and deaths have remained significantly lower than during previous peaks. Currently, Covid-19 cases and deaths are the lowest in three years. Yet more than 3,500 people have died in the last week of April and there are still billions of people who have not been vaccinated.
Spain
In Spain, according to official figures, since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, 13,845,825 people have become ‘infected’ or tested positive for Covid-19 in the country, while 120,964 people have officially died with or from Covid-19. These figures will be much higher in reality. Meanwhile, 105.5 million vaccines have been put in Spain and 40.7 million inhabitants have been fully vaccinated (with two injections), which is almost 93% of the population aged 12 and older. There are also 26.5 million residents who have received a third shot.
Measures that still apply
Since February 8, 2023, after almost three years in Spain, the obligation to wear a face mask in public transport and in various other places came to an end. Since February 8, the face masks are still mandatory in health centers such as medical centers, hospitals, pharmacies, dentists, physiotherapists and nursing homes. This then applies to the people who visit these places and who work there. After the decision of the World Health Organization, this will probably also come to an end in Spain soon.
2023-05-06 11:42:10
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