Following a meeting with some of his European counterparts (see EUROPE 12433/8), the Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, welcomed the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, the Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Andrea Ammon, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, to Rome on Wednesday 26 February.
All four agreed that the EU must be prepared to deal with an increase in infections and presented a series of measures and various detailed recommendations to the press.
In particular, stakeholders emphasised the importance of communicating well with the public and especially with "front-line" health professionals.
For example, a daily risk assessment of Covid-19 is posted daily on the ECDC website. And "information leaflets for citizens and health professionals, which Member States can adapt to local situations, will be available this week", Ms Ammon assured.
Following this meeting, the Commission also undertook to draw up an information form for travellers returning from or going to a risk area.
"The Commission has committed more than €10 million to fund research into the treatment and diagnosis of Covid-19", said the Health Commissioner. "On Monday, we announced an additional 90 million under the partnership between the EU and the pharmaceutical industry, the Innovative Medicines Initiative" she added.
Member States have already been called upon to review their pandemic plans and their health capacities, the Commissioner said.
International coordination is essential
The need for greater international coordination was also widely stressed by the various speakers, given the limited knowledge of the virus among health authorities.
"This is a new virus and we need to learn what we can about the situation in Italy, in terms of the seriousness of the disease, who it affects and how it is transmitted. It is now very important to collect information in a standardised way", said Ms. Ammon.
She also assured that the ECDC was in constant contact with its international partners, such as the WHO and the Centres for Disease Control in China, the United States, Canada and Africa.
Likewise, for the Health Commissioner, "real-time information exchange and coordination of measures between states" are essential to respond effectively and coherently to the epidemic. "This outbreak is testing not only the Global Emergency Response Mechanism we have today, but also our ability to cooperate within the EU", she stressed.
Do not be overcome by panic, division and disinformation
Commissioner Kyriakides therefore naturally insisted on the need to remain united and "avoid divergent approaches within the EU", stating that the Commission stood ready to ensure such coordination "if necessary".
Ms Kyriakides also welcomed the decision of the European health ministers, present in Rome the day before, to keep the borders open, welcoming the fact that they were not resorting to what she described as "disproportionate and ineffective measures".
"This is a worrying situation, but we must not panic", she warned. Same recommendation from Mr. Kluge. He assured that the WHO was taking the situation very seriously and stressed that, so far, four out of five infected patients have recovered.
It also called on citizens to trust only reliable sources of information and to avoid stigmatisation and discrimination.
When asked after the conference about possible treatments and a vaccine, the speakers confirmed that no cure had yet been found. "But different clinical trials are underway", Kluge said, adding that it would certainly take a year and a half before a vaccine is developed. For drugs, clinical trials are underway and results are expected in the spring.
In addition, the European Parliament took the decision to cancel traineeships within the institution for students from four Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont) as well as China, Singapore and South Korea, reports Radio Radicale. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki – intern)