As Cyprus continues to fight the consequences of February’s foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the European Commission announced, on Tuesday 24 March, that it had mobilised its strategic stockpile of emergency supplies, rescEU, to support the ongoing response.
After requesting EU assistance via the Civil Protection Mechanism, the Cypriot authorities received an immediate shipment of emergency supplies by the European Commission, including disinfectants, personal protective equipment, disposable coveralls, face masks, shoe covers and other supplies essential for curbing the further spread of the virus.
Cyprus has been collaborating closely with the Commission from the onset of the epidemic. The Commission has already provided over one million vaccine doses for the entire island from the EU vaccine bank, and three deployments of an EU Veterinary Emergency Team, which provided targeted expertise and operational recommendations on the ground (see EUROPE 13808/10).
The European Commissioner for Health, Olivér Várhelyi, also recently visited Cyprus to demonstrate the Commission’s full solidarity in facing this epidemic. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)