CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The World Health Organization says the COVID-19 pandemic "no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern."

Doctors at the University of Virginia Health System say this means that WHO, like the United States, is not considering COVID a health emergency anymore.

However, that does not mean COVID-19 is gone.

Dr. Costi Sifri says that this is a transition phase, with COVID going from a pandemic to an endemic.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a drop in cases and mortality in 2022, compared to other years with COVID-19.

COVID-19 was associated with approximately 244,000 deaths in the United States from January to December 2022.

"You now have clearly entered an endemic phase of disease, not again to minimize the impact of COVID on patients, that we continue to have that challenge, and we can anticipate we'll see it moving forward," said Sifri.

UVA Health says it has seen a big decrease in COVID patients at the hospital, with only four reported on Friday and one ICU case.