While Austria plans to reopen some small shops from Tuesday 14 April, the European Union is still working on common criteria for the lifting of social distancing measures. This subject was on the agenda at the meeting of the European Commission ‘COVID-19 team’ (see EUROPE 12437/1).
According to the minutes just published of the meeting of the Scientific Advisory Committee with the European Commission on 30 March, it was suggested that any relaxation of the measures should follow the reverse order of implementation. According to this principle, “the partial or total lockdowns could be relaxed while keeping other measures in place, e.g. mild cases staying isolated as well as their contacts, regional lockdowns, etc.”.
Participants concluded that it was too early to develop “common criteria applicable to all countries”, but that it was important to define a set of common principles that would frame the lifting of measures. In their opinion, the capacity of intensive care units and acquired immunity should be taken into account, both of which were considered “obvious” draft criteria. The virus circulation level and a stable decline in the number of new cases and intensive care cases are also considered important factors.
The paper therefore shows that the EU is moving towards a flexible approach that would take into account the differences between and within Member States.
In an interview with the press, the Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, said: “We still have a few difficult months ahead of us, let's not spoil the sacrifices we've made”. He outlined a five-point strategic health plan “for a gradual exit” from the pandemic, including the widespread use of masks and “scrupulous social distancing in living and working environments”. Minutes of the March 30th meeting: https://bit.ly/2xTNUTA (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)