The European Commission recognized this Friday the “alarming” increase in cases of Covid-19 in China and recommended surveillance measures to Member States, such as the sequencing of samples.
In a letter sent to the Ministers of Health of the 27 countries of the European Union and quoted by Europa Press, the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, affirms that Brussels is “attentive to developments”, assumes that we must be prepared, although, for the moment, there are no common measures.
As immediate initiatives, it urges Member States to increase surveillance standards, proposing the sequencing of samples to detect new variants or the analysis of wastewater, such as that from airports.
Stella Kyriakides’ letter comes a day after the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) considered the mandatory covid-19 test unjustified in the European Union for travelers from China, where infections increased significantly .
The ECDC said in a statement that the countries of the European Union “have relatively high levels of immunization and vaccination” and that variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus “circulating in China are already circulating in the European Union.”
For the ECDC, “potential infections” that could be imported are “quite small” compared to the number of cases that circulate daily, and health systems “are now capable of managing” the disease.
For her part, the European Commissioner for Health admits that the data from China is “quite scarce” and that the level of vaccination in China is low, which has already led several countries to take action.
Within the EU, since Wednesday Italy has made covid-19 tests mandatory for those arriving from China at its airports and today the Spanish government announced the establishment of “airport controls” for travelers from China.
In response to Lusa on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said that Portugal does not plan to strengthen measures to control and mitigate the pandemic. However, he assured that the Portuguese authorities are monitoring the epidemiological situation in China “together with European partners and international organizations.”
After strict travel restrictions at the height of the pandemic, the European Union this fall returned to a pre-pandemic system of free travel, but member countries agreed that an “emergency brake” could be activated if necessary. in a short period of time. It’s time to face an unexpected challenge.
Covid-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, detected three years ago in China and which has spread rapidly throughout the world, having assumed various variants and subvariants, some more contagious than others.
The disease is an international public health emergency since January 30, 2020 and a pandemic since March 11, 2020.
Source: TSF
