U.S. national COVID-19 emergency formally ends after three years

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President Joe Biden signed the bill on Monday. Associated Press/Photo by Patrick Semansky

U.S. national COVID-19 emergency formally ends after three years

President Joe Biden on Monday signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency. The bill was passed in the Senate last month. The 3-year-old emergency declaration was set to expire on May 11 along with a separate public health emergency. House Republicans introduced a separate bill that would end the public health emergency immediately but the so-called Pandemic is Over Act has not been considered by the Senate.

What happens now? The national emergency gave the federal government broader power over the country’s economic, health, and welfare systems. Some powers have already ended, but others, like the mortgage forbearance program, will be phased out by the end of May. The end of the public health emergency next month will also terminate Title 42, which allows increased restrictions at the United States-Mexico border.

Dig deeper: Read Emma Freire’s report in WORLD Magazine about the sharp divide over COVID-19 vaccines.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.