A little over five years ago, on 31st December 2019, the World Health Organisation’s Country Office in China picked up a media statement by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission from their website on cases of ‘viral pneumonia’ in Wuhan, China.
In the weeks and months ahead, COVID-19 came to reshape all our lives – and it continues to leave a huge health and economic legacy. Worldwide there have been more than 777 million recorded cases and it has led to more than 7 million deaths.
While for many, life has returned to normal, and lockdowns and mass vaccinations consigned to memory, it remains a prevalent, if less lethal, virus; in the month to 15th December 2024, the WHO reported 195,433 cases, and COVID and flu rates have been rising in the US.
The pandemic presented once-in-a-generation learnings and the organisation has been reflecting on the outbreak as it notched up its five-year milestone.
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