The European Commission calls on the Member States not to relax their efforts against Covid-19 as the festive season approaches. In a communication published on 2 December, it suggests, for example, that they should continue to ban mass gatherings and introduce clear criteria for smaller events, such as family reunions.
“This year, festivities are going to be different. And this is inevitable. This year, saving lives must come first. [...] We cannot allow the risk of seeing Christmas or New Year celebrations becoming super spreading events”, said Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
A cautious approach
The Commission’s communication advocates maintaining the restrictive measures currently in force. It reminds us of the 3 Cs: avoidclosed spaces,crowded places andclose contacts.
It recalls the conclusions of a prospective study carried out by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) which indicates that a relaxation of these measures on 21 December will lead to an increase in hospital admissions from the first week of January 2021 (see EUROPE 12607/2).
As always, the text sweeps across a wide range of issues, from tracing applications to screening and vaccination strategies. In addition to the provisions related to gatherings, support for wearing masks, curfews and family bubbles will be retained.
The text adds that if Member States still chose to relax their measures for the festive season, they would have to provide for strict criteria for self-quarantine 7 days before and after the event. Member States could also consider extending school holidays or introducing a period of e-learning to ensure that those who spend the holidays in another country do not pose a danger.
What about skiing?
However, the Communication makes no explicit reference to travel to ski resorts, despite calls made by France, Germany and Belgium during the Health Ministers’ videoconference (see other news). “We know very well what happened this year in February-March, when people came back from skiing and unknowingly brought the virus back in their luggage”, said German Health Minister Jens Spahn at the press conference following the ministerial meeting. The German also took the opportunity to congratulate Austria, which announced the same morning its decision to allow access to its ski slopes after 24 December while keeping hotels closed until 7 January. During the discussion at the Health Council, France, for its part, pleaded for a “cautious and sequenced reopening of ski resorts”. Until now, it had planned to allow the opening of its resorts without activating the ski lifts.
For Commissioner Kyriakides, who prefers to speak of “winter tourism”, a cautious approach should continue to be applied. The Communication follows the criteria of the October Recommendation on travel restrictions, which favours “proportionate and non-discriminatory” measures (see EUROPE 12580/6). It adds that if “quarantine requirements are imposed for travel from a high-risk area, consideration should be given to shortening the required quarantine time if a negative PCR test is obtained 7 days after return”.
No quarantine or screening for air travel
On the same day, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also published guidelines for Covid-19 testing and quarantine of air travellers (see EUROPE 12612/19). In this addendum to the May 2020 Aviation Health Safety Protocol, both agencies stress that travellers should be treated in the same way as local residents and be subject to the same regulations or recommendations as those applied to the local population.
Present at the meeting of Health Ministers, the director of the centre, Andrea Ammon, described herself as “cautiously optimistic” about the development of the pandemic in Europe. She pointed to a general decrease in 14-day notification rates and positivity rates. However, she indicated that 14-day deaths and ICU bed occupancy rates do continue to increase.
See the Recommendation on the winter period: https://bit.ly/2HZHEz9 and the addendum on air travel: https://bit.ly/3qlBjzC (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)