On Thursday 13 February, European Health Ministers attempted to respond to the double challenge posed by the outbreak of the new coronavirus. They have adopted common measures for preparing for and managing the disease while taking care not to create panic, in a context where they have neither the same needs nor the same means.
A difficult communication exercise
This extraordinary meeting had been convened at the request of Germany, France and Italy, where 16, 11 and 3 cases of coronavirus had been recorded, respectively. However, at the opening of the meeting, all ministers agreed not to create a panic. “At the moment, there are not many cases of coronavirus in Europe. But we have to be sure that all Member States have taken the necessary measures”, said Belgian Health Minister Maggie de Block upon her arrival.
This is confirmed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, pointing out that 99% of cases are located in China. The ECDC further states that the European Union currently has the capacity to carry out “8,000 diagnoses per week”. “For the time being, the epidemic is regional, but it cannot be said that it will not become a pandemic”, said the German minister, whose country is most affected. Italy also made no secret of its concerns: “According to our figures, 2 out of 5 patients need intensive care (around 10%) and respiratory assistance, which could create difficulties for health systems”, said the Italian Health Minister.
Is Europe ready? “I prefer not to speculate; we wanted to assess the state of the situation, the state of preparedness. I would say that all Member States have confirmed that an action plan is in place and that the state of preparedness is good”, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides concluded at a press conference.
Dreaded shortages of medicines and equipment
Above all, the meeting was an opportunity for the Commission to announce its intention to launch a joint procurement procedure for personal protective equipment, demand for which is currently on the rise and half of which is produced in China. This announcement was welcomed by Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.
The discussion also highlighted Member States’ concern about potential disruptions in the supply chain of medicines. China is also an important producer of active substances for the pharmaceutical industry. However, this production is in danger of drying up due to the large number of sick people in China and transport disruptions. According to the Austrian Minister, these active substances and the finished medicines travel for 4-5 months on container ships, which could lead to future consequences. “The European Medicines Agency and national health authorities are assessing the situation regarding active pharmaceutical ingredients and medicinal products for the European market. At present, it appears that the coronavirus does not affect the availability of medicines in Europe, but we must remain vigilant”, commented Ms Kyriakides.
No flight disruptions, but increased tracings
As expected, Member States adopted conclusions recognising that the new virus, renamed ‘COVID-19’ by the WHO, represents a global public health threat due to its volume and frequency of international travel.
While the Twenty-Seven did not give in to Italy’s demands for flight restrictions, they did tighten their stance on passenger tracking. “Where justified, travellers arriving or transiting from infected areas may be asked to provide information on whether they have been in contact with persons from those areas”, the conclusions state. According to the Croatian EU Council Presidency, the concept of contact should be understood as “close contacts with contaminated persons”.
On flight restrictions, the Twenty-Seven showed a relatively unified position. However, several countries, such as Estonia and the Czech Republic, have expressed their willingness to review their position as the disease progresses.
WHO stands up for China
The World Health Organisation, for its part, presented a rapid assessment of the situation by teleconference before taking up the role of China’s advocate. It was its head of the Department of Health Emergencies, Michael Ryan, who spoke (and not, as we said yesterday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus). He indicated that the recent increase in the number of cases in China was due to a new way of counting (in the clinical environment) and therefore better monitoring. He also spoke, unlike many, of “prompt reporting” on the part of the Chinese authorities.
The European Commission and the Croatian Presidency also said they “trust China”, stressing that a committee of experts had just been set up with China for a rapid exchange of information. For her part, Maggie de Block, was more sceptical: “How do you think I can verify that, at night, in China? It’s not obvious”.
In conclusion, the WHO called on Europe to provide frontloaded funding for vaccine development. Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Malta were in favour.
See the conclusions adopted by the Council: http://bit.ly/38DnjaQ (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)