COVID-19 Surveillance Data

April 2023 (data as of 2 May 2023)

During the month of April 2023, there was a decrease in the number of hospital admissions from 21 admissions in March 2023 to 8 new admissions in April 2023. The data includes patients who were admitted to the hospital for medical care and SARS-CoV2 symptoms and those who tested positive for COVID-19 when screened upon admission. One COVID deaths was reported for the month of April 2023.

Global Updates

On the 4th May 2023, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer regarded a Public Health Emergency of International Concern[1]. The Director-General stated that whilst COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to decrease, this may in part be related to surveillance efforts decreasing and pandemic fatigue.

Overall, the risk is viewed to have decreased due to high population-level immunity resulting from vaccination and/or infection and improved clinical case management, alongside the current strain circulating, Omicron and its sub-lineages, having a relatively consistent virulence.

On the 10th May, the WHO Emergency Committee for monkeypox (mpox) advised that the outbreak is no longer viewed a Public Health Emergency of International Concern[2]. This is due to the sustained decline in cases detected.

[1] World Health Organization, Statement on the fifteenth meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic, 5 May 2023. Available online: https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic

[2] Pan American Health Organization, WHO declares end of mpox emergency, calls for sustained efforts for long-term management of the disease, 11 May 2023. Available online: https://www.paho.org/en/news/11-5-2023-who-declares-end-mpox-emergency-calls-sustained-efforts-long-term-management-disease

A Message from the Chief Medical Officer

On the 4th May 2023 the WHO Director-General accepted the advice offered by the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

It is important that the WHO message is not misunderstood to mean that there is no longer any risk, as the WHO also added the important caveat  that their statement ‘must be interpreted within the context that the committee noted that SARS-CoV-2 has been and will continue circulating widely and evolving’.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over.

The COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, along with a better understanding of the virus and how it is transmitted, have only allowed us to move out of the emergency phase.

We also face the re-emergence of other respiratory infections, including the flu.

I continue to recommend, not just for COVID-19, but for good protection against many infectious diseases that we all:

* always practice proper hand hygiene

* stay home when unwell

* consider wearing masks when in crowded indoor areas (including during air travel), especially if you are clinically vulnerable

* get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 and  the Flu