The World Health Organization on Wednesday unveiled an updated plan for COVID-19 that, if implemented “rapidly and consistently” this year, will allow the world to end the emergency phase of the pandemic. The plan—the WHO’s third on COVID-19—includes three potential scenarios for how the virus might evolve in the next 12 months: a base case, a best case, and a worst case. Key objectives include reducing COVID-19 infections, and effectively diagnosing and treating COVID-19 cases to reduce deaths. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the plan’s foreword that the world now stands at “a pivotal and dangerous moment in the fight against COVID-19.” “Although it is impossible to predict precisely how the SARS-CoV-2 virus will evolve, we know that new variants will arise as transmission continues and, in many cases, intensify,” he wrote. “And yet, we can look to the future with a sense of hope that we can …