On Friday, international experts began discussions on the possibility of lifting the public health emergency of international concern related to Covid-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) is going to announce a decision no earlier than Monday, reports agency DPA, with reference to sources in the WHO, writes Agerpres.

According to a WHO spokeswoman, the online meeting of the emergency committee on international health regulations related to Covid-19 initially focused on the latest data on the pandemic, after which discussions took place.

It is expected that the negotiations will end no earlier than Friday evening. The committee will then report to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who must make an independent decision for or against lifting the current state of emergency.

Earlier this week, the director of the WHO expressed concern about the continuous increase in the weekly registered death rates from Covid-19.

According to the WHO, more than 170,000 people have died from the coronavirus worldwide since the beginning of December.

However, according to the WHO, there are many effective measures available against the virus, including vaccines, drugs, masks or social distancing measures.

A state of emergency is the highest level of alarm the WHO can declare. These measures are taken in the event of threats so that governments and the public are alerted and can prepare.

Neither the declaration nor the cancellation of a state of emergency – officially a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) – has immediate consequences. Each country decides how to handle the crisis at the national level.