On Jan. 31, 2020, with six confirmed cases of a new coronavirus in the U.S., a group of federal health officials gathered somberly at the lectern at the White House and declared a public health emergency.
“Beginning at 5:00 p.m. EST Sunday, February the 2nd, the United States government will implement temporary measures to increase our abilities to detect and contain the coronavirus proactively and aggressively,” announced then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
More than three years of social disruption, at least 6 million hospitalizations, and 1.1 million U.S. deaths later, that declaration is due to expire this Thursday. Some, including Republicans in Congress who pushed the Biden administration to end the declaration, say it’s about time. Others remain concerned about the virus and worry that the end of the declaration could mean relaxing measures that allow the virus to create new disruptions.
“COVID 19 is still a significant problem, but emergencies can’t go on forever,” observes Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “I think we’re living in a place where we’re treating COVID similar to flu.”