Mexico declares end of COVID-19 health emergency

MEXICO CITY, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Mexico has declared an end to the COVID-19 health emergency in keeping with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Tuesday.

"The decision was made given that the conditions the WHO took into account to suspend the public health emergency of international concern have been met," Lopez-Gatell said at a press conference.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador signed a decree that marked the end of the initial March 23, 2020 document declaring the start of the health emergency.

On May 5, the WHO declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency due to the steady decline in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

According to Lopez-Gatell, 95 percent of Mexico's population has the antibodies needed to repel the virus, providing the country with a "high level of immunity."

In addition, the variants currently circulating have a "lower virulence" than previous ones, causing only mild illness, he said, adding that clinical treatment of patients has improved.