WHO Emergency Committee Warns COVID-19 Pandemic Remains International Health Emergency

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2020) The World Health Organization's (WHO) Emergency Committee has warned on Friday that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health emergency of international scale, adding that governments should enact evidence-informed, risk-based measures to curb the spread of the disease.

The Emergency Committee held its fifth meeting on the COVID-19 pandemic earlier on Friday, and officials warned that the epidemiological situation was still of great concern.

"They [the committee] advised that the pandemic still constituted a public health emergency of international concern, and urged a focus on response efforts based on lessons learned and strong science," a press release published by the WHO read.

The committee emphasized the importance of coherent, risk-based, and evidence-informed measures to prevent the spread of the disease, according to the press release. Governments should also plan for future COVID-19 vaccines,�avoid politicizing the pandemic, and maintain vital health care services, the committee said.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accepted the committee's findings, according to the press release.

The Emergency Committee held its first meeting on COVID-19 back in January, as the disease began to spread within China and into neighboring countries.