
US President Joe Biden said in an interview aired on Sunday that “the pandemic is over,” even though the country is still operating under the public health emergency, first declared in January 2020.
“The pandemic is over,” Mr Biden said during an interview conducted with CBS' ‘60 Minutes’ program on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, an event which drew thousands of visitors.
“We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lotta work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing.”
Health officials like White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha have as recently as this month said “the pandemic is not over,” but have acknowledged that there is a shift under way in its fight against the virus.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that the “end is in sight” for the pandemic, but still urged nations to maintain their vigilance.