Sam: I'm Sam.
Neil: And I'm Neil.
Sam: In March 2020, the World Health Organisation, the WHO,
declared Covid-19 a pandemic.
Now, after two and half years in the shadow of Covid,
for many people travel restrictions are ending,
and many people around the world are starting their lives again.
But not everyone.
Neil: Whether it's because of lockdowns and not seeing friends,
or getting sick, even dying, everyone wants to see an end to the pandemic.
But with cases of Covid infections still in the millions,
and doctors warning about new variants of the disease,
is the pandemic really coming to an end?
In this programme, we'll be finding out how pandemics end,
and, as usual, we'll be learning some related vocabulary as well.
Sam: Of course, pandemics are nothing new.
Ancient texts are full of stories of plagues
which spread death and disease before eventually going away.
In the Middle Ages,
The Black Death that killed over half of Europe's population lasted for four years.