“the pandemic is over.” Wrong. It is important to understand the meaning of these words.

endemic: the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.

epidemic: rapid spread of disease cases in a specific geographical area.

pandemic: an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people.

COVID is clearly not endemic due to its continued high prevalence. It is not limited to a specific geographical area and is occurring globally. Thus it is a pandemic. Do not confuse the dropping of public health mitigations like wearing a well-fitting respirator indoors with “the pandemic is over.”

Source: Lesson 1: Introduction to Epidemiology (CDC)