Brazil is lifting 2-year-old COVID-19 public health emergency measures

The Brazilian government is planning to lift the public health emergency measures that were implemented at the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.

Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said on Sunday that the number of infections appears to be decreasing. He noted that most eligible people have now been vaccinated. Queiroga went on to announce that the public health emergency measures implemented in February 2020 will be lifted in a few days.

Brazil has had more than 30 million infections. That is the third highest number in the world. The number of deaths has surpassed 660,000. That is the world's second highest figure. Only the United States has had more.

Health authorities said as of Sunday, the weekly average of new daily cases was more than 14,300 and the number of deaths was 100. The figures represent a dramatic drop from those reported in February, when infections blamed on the Omicron variant were at their peak.

The health minister spoke with reporters in the capital Brasilia on Monday. He stated that the lifting of the measures does not indicate "the end of COVID-19." He said that people will have to live with the virus.