The virus is still circulating, but no longer an acute crisis.
Después de más de tres años de emergencia global, la Organización Mundial de la Salud cerró formalmente el capítulo más agudo de la pandemia de COVID-19 el 5 de mayo de 2023, reconociendo un descenso sostenido en casos graves y muertes en todo el mundo. En Perú, el Ministerio de Salud respondió no con alivio complaciente, sino con una reafirmación de responsabilidad: el fin de la emergencia no es el fin de la vigilancia. La humanidad rara vez abandona una crisis sin cargar consigo las lecciones aprendidas, y las autoridades peruanas parecen decididas a convertir tres años de respuesta urgente en una infraestructura duradera para el futuro.
- La OMS declaró el fin de la emergencia sanitaria internacional tras registrar una caída drástica: de 1,3 millones de casos y 14.000 muertes semanales en enero a 630.000 casos y 3.500 muertes a finales de abril.
- El cierre oficial de la emergencia generó el riesgo de que la población interprete el anuncio como una señal para abandonar las precauciones sanitarias.
- El Ministerio de Salud del Perú salió al paso con un llamado claro: completar los esquemas de vacunación y mantener medidas como el lavado de manos, la ventilación de espacios cerrados y el uso de mascarilla ante síntomas.
- El país se alinea con el Plan Estratégico de Preparación y Respuesta de la OMS para 2023-2025, transitando de la gestión de crisis hacia el manejo endémico sostenido.
- Las autoridades peruanas se comprometieron a preservar y ampliar la infraestructura sanitaria construida durante la pandemia, usándola como base para enfrentar futuras amenazas infecciosas.
El 5 de mayo de 2023, la Organización Mundial de la Salud puso fin formalmente a la emergencia sanitaria internacional que había declarado el 30 de enero de 2020. La decisión llegó tras evaluar una tendencia inequívoca: los casos graves y las muertes habían caído de manera sostenida en todo el mundo. Una enfermedad que había infectado a al menos 765 millones de personas y causado cerca de 20 millones de muertes comenzaba a ceder terreno.
En Perú, el Ministerio de Salud no interpretó el anuncio como una señal de retirada, sino como un llamado a consolidar lo logrado. La cartera emitió un comunicado recordando a la ciudadanía que completar los esquemas de vacunación seguía siendo prioritario, y que las medidas preventivas básicas —lavado de manos, ventilación adecuada y uso de mascarilla ante síntomas— conservaban toda su vigencia.
El ministerio también se comprometió a seguir el marco estratégico que la OMS recomendó a sus estados miembros para el período 2023-2025, orientado a gestionar el COVID-19 como una enfermedad endémica en lugar de una crisis aguda. Lejos de desmantelar los sistemas construidos durante tres años de respuesta de emergencia, las autoridades peruanas anunciaron su intención de preservarlos y fortalecerlos: más infraestructura, protocolos actualizados y mayor capacidad del personal de salud. El objetivo declarado va más allá del COVID-19: preparar al país para cualquier amenaza infecciosa que pueda surgir en el futuro.
On Friday, May 5th, the World Health Organization formally ended the international public health emergency it had declared more than three years earlier, on January 30, 2020. The decision came after the WHO's emergency committee met to assess the current state of the pandemic, which had infected at least 765 million people and caused roughly 20 million deaths worldwide. The organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the move in response to a marked global decline in severe cases and mortality.
The numbers told the story of a disease in retreat. By late April, the WHO was recording 630,000 new cases globally and 3,500 deaths per week—a sharp drop from January's figures of 1.3 million cases and 14,000 deaths, when China was experiencing a significant outbreak. That trajectory of decline gave the organization the grounds to declare the emergency phase over.
In Peru, the Health Ministry responded to the WHO's announcement by reaffirming its commitment to managing COVID-19 as a long-term public health concern rather than an acute crisis. The ministry issued a statement emphasizing that the end of the emergency declaration did not mean the end of vigilance. Citizens should complete their vaccination schedules, the ministry urged, and continue practicing preventive measures: regular handwashing, ensuring adequate ventilation in enclosed spaces, and wearing masks when symptomatic.
The WHO had issued guidance to all member states recommending they adopt a Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 covering 2023 through 2025. This framework was designed to help countries navigate the transition from emergency response to sustained disease management. Peru's Health Ministry pledged to follow that roadmap, maintaining and expanding the healthcare infrastructure and capacity that had been built during the acute phase of the pandemic.
The ministry also committed to updating its health protocols and regulations to reflect the new epidemiological reality. Rather than dismantling the systems and expertise developed over three years of crisis response, Peru would preserve those capabilities and use them as a foundation for preparing against future pandemics. The statement concluded with a promise to continue strengthening healthcare services, equipment, and workforce capacity—not just for COVID-19, but as a hedge against whatever infectious disease threats might emerge next.
Citas Notables
The ministry reiterated its commitment to continue strengthening healthcare services, equipment, and capacities to confront future pandemics and protect public health.— Peru's Health Ministry statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the WHO wait until May to end the emergency if cases had been falling since January?
The decline had to be sustained and global. January was still volatile—China's outbreak was massive. By late April, the trend was clear and consistent across regions. That's when they felt confident enough to call it.
Does ending the emergency mean COVID-19 is gone?
No. It means it's no longer an acute crisis requiring extraordinary measures. The virus is still circulating. People still need to get vaccinated and take precautions. It's shifting from emergency mode to chronic disease management.
What does Peru actually do differently now?
On paper, not much changes immediately. The ministry keeps recommending vaccines and preventive measures. But the real shift is psychological and structural—they're moving from crisis response to long-term infrastructure. They're keeping the hospitals, the expertise, the supply chains, but recalibrating them.
Is Peru prepared for the next pandemic?
That's the stated goal. By maintaining these systems now rather than dismantling them, they're betting they'll be faster to respond next time. Whether that actually happens depends on whether governments fund it when the threat feels distant.
What happens to people who haven't been vaccinated?
The ministry is still recommending completion of vaccination schedules. But without the emergency framing, there's less urgency, less enforcement. It becomes a public health message competing for attention in a world that's moved on.