jordan pulse -

China will continue to monitor the virus and increase vaccinations among the most vulnerable groups, a senior health official said in China.

The World Health Organization ended its highest level of COVID-19 alert on Friday, more than three years after its original announcement, saying countries must now treat the virus on a par with other infectious diseases.

The World Health Organization said, on Friday, that the Covid-19 pandemic, which in more than three years has claimed the lives of “at least 20 million people”, sparked economic chaos and deepened inequality, no longer constitutes a global health emergency.

Ending the state of emergency does not mean that COVID will disappear, but its impact can now be effectively controlled, said Liang Wannian, head of the National Health Commission's COVID Expert Committee.

He added that China will continue to monitor virus mutations, promote vaccines among the most vulnerable groups, and look forward to improving treatment capabilities for the disease.

China stuck to the "zero Covid" policy for a long time after most countries began to live with the virus and only began to abandon its restrictive policies in late 2022.

In February, China's top leaders announced a "decisive victory" against Covid and recorded the lowest death rate in the world, but experts questioned China's data.