‘Far from over’: What past pandemics can tell us about ending COVID-19
Global News
On the second anniversary of COVID-19 being characterized as a pandemic, we take a look some previous global health outbreaks and how they were brought under control.
After two years of strict COVID-19 lockdowns and travel advisories, there are signs of a return to normal in Canada and other parts of the world as restrictions are being lifted.
But even though new COVID-19 cases and deaths are on the decline globally, the pandemic is far from over, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and other experts.
“It’s far too early to declare victory over COVID-19,” said WHO Secretary-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week.
“There are still many countries with high rates of hospitalization and death, and low rates of vaccine coverage and with high transmission. The threat of a new and more dangerous variant remains very real.”
To date, more than 450 million people have been infected with COVID-19 and upwards of six million have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
On the second anniversary of COVID-19 being characterized as a pandemic by the WHO, Global News takes a look some past pandemics — recent and old — and how they ended.
The influenza pandemic that broke out in 1918 during the First World War was the most devastating flu outbreak of the 20th century.
It was caused by the H1N1 virus and may have originated from an avian reservoir, in other words a bird, according to experts. Like COVID-19, this pandemic was caused by a respiratory illness.
