聽In this file photo taken on January 5, 2022 Brazil鈥檚 Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga speaks during a press conference about the COVID-19 vaccination plan for children aged 5 to 11, at the Ministry of Health in Brasilia. AFP
叠搁础厂滨尝滨础鈥�Brazil announced Sunday it will 鈥渋n the coming days鈥� lift public health emergency measures in place for over two years, citing a drop in the number of deaths and infections.
More than 660,000 people died of the virus in Brazil, one of the hardest-hit countries second only to the United States.
But the number of infections and deaths has fallen dramatically as authorities ramped up immunization, with about 75 percent of its 212 million people now fully vaccinated.
Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Sunday the public health emergency declared on February 3, 2020 鈥� when the virus started spreading globally after it first emerged in Wuhan, China 鈥� will soon end.
鈥淲e have the conditions to announce today the end of the health emergency,鈥� Queiroga said on television, adding that the announcement will be formalized by a decree 鈥渋n the next few days鈥�.
鈥淭his, however, does not mean the end of Covid-19. We will continue to live with the virus,鈥� the minister said.
The decision came after Brazil鈥檚 President Jair Bolsonaro, who famously dismissed the virus as 鈥渁 little flu鈥�, asked his minister a few weeks ago to decree an 鈥渆nd to the pandemic鈥� and called for a return to normalcy.
Earlier this month, Brazil also loosened restrictions for international travelers, scrapping a 14-day quarantine for vaccinated foreign visitors.
The far-right Covid-skeptic president is up for re-election this year, and has come under fire in the past for his handling of the pandemic.
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