Realising you're writing from Australia; beyond contexts where WHO PHE (ending May 2023) is meaning to infer, the end date might have it mean very different things. WHO PHE period does encompass most AUS Covid deaths but a UK "During COVID" meaning 2020 + 2021 it would = "Almost no COVID" in AUS!
In general parlance here in Australia, if someone says "during covid" to mean "during the emergency response to the covid pandemic" they are not referring to the WHO definition of PHEIC, but rather the time period were there were significant restrictions...
...in place on e.g. international travel, public gatherings, occupancy in hospitality, face mask wearing, etc. Generally from March 2020 to sometime in early-mid 2022. Again, I am simply describing the way the public uses the English language.
It's a fairly well-defined period of time, marked by some substantial regulations that were unprecedented before and haven't happened since, and the exact timing might differ a little from country to country, but generally most people know that's what "during covid means colloquially.
Right - so it is accurate that translating that concept (pandemic domestic legal restrictions) to the UK (were most restrictions where removed in July 2021) would mean date range in Australia with almost no COVID deaths. With 19 July 2021 (UK) and start of June 2022 (AUS) as local end dates.....
cont.... those periods cover is 66% (UK) and 37% (AUS) of COVID deaths in Our World In Data data. So AUS a bit like US in sense that more recorded deaths in post vaccine, Biden era (1.2m deaths to Jan 20 2021 reaching 2.5m a year later). Similar concept, different times & deaths involved.
Yes, that is why I said "It is nearly always clear from context ... not making any statement at all about the continued circulation of the virus or the effects of the disease".