The COVID-19 pandemic is a global outbreak of coronavirus, an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus.
The first cases of novel coronavirus (nCoV) were first detected in China in December 2019, with the virus spreading rapidly to other countries across the world. This led WHO to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and to characterize the outbreak as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
On 5 May 2023, more than three years into the pandemic, the WHO Emergency Committee on COVID-19 recommended to the Director-General, who accepted the recommendation, that given the disease was by now well-established and ongoing, it no longer fit the definition of a PHEIC. This does not mean the pandemic itself is over, but the global emergency it has caused is, for now. A Review Committee to be established will develop long-term, standing recommendations for countries on how to manage COVID-19 on an ongoing basis.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, over 2 million people in the European Region have died from the disease.
The links and resources menu on this page can be used to navigate the most updated information and guidance for health authorities, public health audiences, and for the general public. This includes links to resources that have tracked the COVID-19 situation in European countries, as well as documented the WHO/Europe and country responses to the pandemic.
The site below also links to WHO/Europe’s key publications on COVID-19, as well as to our key numbers related to cases, deaths, and people vaccinated across the Region. Access our WHO/Europe COVID-19 dashboard by clicking on the map icon below.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe held the third meeting of the European Regional Laboratory Task Force (Lab Task Force) for emerging and re-emerging...
To address a decrease in notifications for tuberculosis (TB), Belarus introduced Xpert MTB/RIF testing, which is a rapid diagnosis test for TB...
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on Ukraine’s primary health-care (PHC) system. To measure the impact of the pandemic on the...
Strengthened surveillance using a One-Health approach in at-risk animal populations and at the animal-human-environment interface is required to timely...
This “living” document presents an update to the previous timeline covering from 31 December 2019 to 31 December 20201. It describes the continuation...
2020 was a year that will be remembered for generations, for having put the lives and livelihoods of everyone into an unprecedented stress test. Health...
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) - Global site
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