Governments declare end to COVID-19 emergency

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the EU is entering a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 60 and 80 percent of the EU population has been infected with the virus, and case numbers are trending downward, the EU health commissioner said. The new guidance says a COVID-19 test should be included in standard testing for respiratory illness. This means testing will aim to report reliable estimates rather than identify all cases.

Has anything changed in the U.S.? National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease head Anthony Fauci told PBS on Tuesday that the U.S. is “out of the pandemic phase.” On Wednesday he clarified that the pandemic is not over, but the nation has more control over it. A new survey found roughly 60 percent of Americans have already been infected with COVID-19. According to CDC data, the current average number of daily new cases in the U.S. stands at 47,000 as of Monday, compared to January’s peak of 773,000.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel R. Suhr’s article in WORLD Opinions on what power the CDC and Fauci have over COVID-19 policies.