COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It spread to other areas of Asia, and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed the outbreak had become a pandemic on 11 March.[3]
"The pandemic" redirects here. For other uses, see Pandemic (disambiguation) and List of epidemics and pandemics.COVID-19 pandemic
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2)
Assessed by WHO as pandemic: 11 March 2020 (4 years and 3 months ago)[3]
Public health emergency of international concern: 30 January 2020 – 5 May 2023 (3 years, 3 months and 5 days)[4]
As of 10 March 2023: 1.02%[8]
COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat, nocturnal cough, and fatigue. Transmission of the virus is often through airborne particles. Mutations have produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence.[9] COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deployed to the general public beginning in December 2020, made available through government and international programs such as COVAX, aiming to provide vaccine equity. Treatments include novel antiviral drugs and symptom control. Common mitigation measures during the public health emergency included travel restrictions, lockdowns, business restrictions and closures, workplace hazard controls, mask mandates, quarantines, testing systems, and contact tracing of the infected.
The pandemic caused severe social and economic disruption around the world, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression.[10] Widespread supply shortages, including food shortages, were caused by supply chain disruptions and panic buying. Reduced human activity led to an unprecedented temporary decrease in pollution. Educational institutions and public areas were partially or fully closed in many jurisdictions, and many events were cancelled or postponed during 2020 and 2021. Telework became much more common for white-collar workers as the pandemic evolved. Misinformation circulated through social media and mass media, and political tensions intensified. The pandemic raised issues of racial and geographic discrimination, health equity, and the balance between public health imperatives and individual rights.
The WHO ended the PHEIC for COVID-19 on 5 May 2023.[4] The disease has continued to circulate, but as of 2024, experts were uncertain as to whether it was still a pandemic.[11][12] Pandemics and their ends are not well-defined, and whether or not one has ended differs according to the definition used.[11][13] As of 29 June 2024, COVID-19 has caused 7,051,600[5] confirmed deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic ranks as the fifth-deadliest pandemic or epidemic in history.
Semi-log plot of weekly deaths due to COVID-19 in the world and top six current countries (mean with cases)
Excess deaths relative to expected deaths (The patterns indicate the quality of the all-cause mortality data that were available for each respective country.)[64]
![Excess deaths relative to expected deaths (global and WHO region)[64]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/COVID-19_pandemic_excess_deaths_-_global_and_WHO_region_P-scores_%28excess_deaths_relative_to_expected_deaths%29.webp/309px-COVID-19_pandemic_excess_deaths_-_global_and_WHO_region_P-scores_%28excess_deaths_relative_to_expected_deaths%29.webp.png)
The 25 countries with the highest total estimated COVID-19 pandemic excess deaths between January 2020 and December 2021[64]
![The 25 countries with the highest total estimated COVID-19 pandemic excess deaths between January 2020 and December 2021[64]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/The_25_countries_with_the_highest_total_estimated_COVID-19_pandemic_excess_deaths_between_January_2020_and_December_2021.webp/335px-The_25_countries_with_the_highest_total_estimated_COVID-19_pandemic_excess_deaths_between_January_2020_and_December_2021.webp.png)
![The 25 countries with the highest mean P-scores (excess deaths relative to expected deaths)[64]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/The_25_countries_with_the_highest_mean_P-scores_%28excess_deaths_relative_to_expected_deaths%29.webp/328px-The_25_countries_with_the_highest_mean_P-scores_%28excess_deaths_relative_to_expected_deaths%29.webp.png)
Long-term effects
Economic
Despite strong economic rebounds following the initial lockdowns in early 2020, towards the latter phases of the pandemic, many countries began to experience long-term economic effects. Several countries saw high inflation rates which had global impacts, particularly in developing countries.[667] Some economic impacts such as supply chain and trade operations were seen as more permanent as the pandemic exposed major weaknesses in these systems.[668]
In Australia, the pandemic caused an increase in occupational burnout in 2022.[669]
During the pandemic, a large percentage of workers in Canada came to prefer working from home, which had an impact on the traditional work model. Some corporations made efforts to force workers to return to work on-site, while some embraced the idea.[670]
Travel
There was a "travel boom" causing air travel to recover at rates faster than anticipated, and the aviation industry became profitable in 2023 for the first time since 2019, before the pandemic.[671] However, economic issues meant some predicted that the boom would begin to slow down.[672] Business travel on airlines was still below pre-pandemic levels and is predicted not to recover.[673]
Health
An increase in excess deaths from underlying causes not related to COVID-19 has been largely blamed on systematic issues causing delays in health care and screening during the pandemic, which has resulted in an increase of non-COVID-19 related deaths.[674]
Immunizations
During the pandemic, millions of children missed out on vaccinations as countries focused efforts on combating COVID-19. Efforts were made to increase vaccination rates among children in low-income countries. These efforts were successful in increasing vaccination rates for some diseases, though the UN noted that post-pandemic measles vaccinations were still falling behind.[675]
Some of the decrease in immunization was driven by an increase in mistrust of public health officials. This was seen in both low-income and high-income countries. Several African countries saw a decline in vaccinations due to misinformation around the pandemic flowing into other areas.[676] Immunization rates have yet to recover in the United States[677] and the United Kingdom.[678]