The end of the Covid-19 pandemic ‘in sight’, says the World Health Organization

The end of the Covid-19 pandemic is “in sight”, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO said weekly deaths from the virus around the world are at their lowest level since March 2020 – the month Britain first went into lockdown.

The Director General of the International Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a press conference: “Last week, the number of weekly reported deaths from Covid-19 was the lowest since March 2020.

“We’ve never been in a better position to end the pandemic – we’re not there yet, but the end is in sight.

“A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view, she runs harder, with all the energy she has left. We must too.

“We can see the finish line, we are in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running.

“Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work.

“If we don’t seize this opportunity now, we risk more variants, more deaths, more disruptions and more uncertainty. So let’s grab this opportunity.

“Today, WHO is releasing six short policy briefs outlining the key actions that all governments must take now to end the race.

“We can end this pandemic together, but only if all countries, manufacturers, communities and individuals step up and seize this opportunity.”

The documents include guidance on testing, vaccination, best practices for managing the disease, maintaining infection control measures in healthcare facilities, preventing the spread of misinformation and community engagement.

One of the papers says: “With access to and appropriate use of existing life-saving tools, Covid-19 can become a manageable disease with significantly reduced morbidity and mortality.”

The WHO has estimated that 19.8 million deaths were averted in 2021 thanks to Covid-19 vaccines and 12 billion doses have been administered around the world.

But it warned that the virus still constituted an “urgent global emergency” and highlighted that in the first eight months of 2022 more than one million people died from Covid-19.

“Transmission of the virus continues to be robust,” the document said. “Repeated waves of disease and the emergence of new variants continue to pose risks and challenges.”

It comes as UK officials confirmed there are no plans for people to be able to buy Covid-19 jabs privately.

The flu jab is offered annually to people in risk groups, with those not in these groups able to purchase the vaccine privately if they wish.

But the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed to GP magazine Pulse that there are no plans to replicate this program with a Covid vaccine, with supplies only available through the NHS.

Covid-19 infections in the UK have fallen to their lowest level in almost 11 months.

A total of 944,700 people in private households are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week to August 28, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is the lowest total across the UK since the week to 2 October 2021, when the figure was 942,600.

Infections hit 3.8 million in early July this year during the spread of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, but have been on a largely downward trajectory in recent weeks.

Nationally, infections continue to fall in England and Wales, while the trend is uncertain in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the ONS said.

At the end of August, the Covid-19 alert level in the UK was downgraded from level three to level two.

A level two warning means that Covid-19 is “generally circulating, but the direct Covid-19 health burden and transmission is decreasing or stable”.

In the week ending September 2, 8,868 deaths were recorded in England and Wales, with 314 citing “novel coronavirus (Covid-19)”, accounting for 3.5% of deaths, according to the ONS.