WHO plans to end acute phase of pandemic, despite cases flaring in the Pacific

Despite Covid-19 outbreaks currently flaring up in several Pacific countries, the World Health Organisation has released its plan to "end the acute phase of the pandemic".

WHO's South Pacific representative Dr Mark Jacobs said the plan will help countries to move on from the emergency phase of Covid-19, to a phase of managing it "like an ongoing issue".

"In the Pacific, it's been about working with countries, and along with partners, to help build their capacity to manage Covid into the future," he said.

The plan talks about three different possible scenarios, one of those being the virus continues to evolve into new variants.

"The severity of it will go down over time, as immunity increases because of vaccination," Dr Jacobs said.

As the world continues to battle this pandemic, only some things are certain.

"Covid is going to be with us for a while," Dr Jacobs said.

"Even if, ultimately, it [Covid] becomes a disease that we manage, there'll be a future pandemic and so our systems need to be as ready as they can be."