BRUSSELS, Dec. 29 (.) –
The EU member states have agreed to maintain “active surveillance” in the face of the apparent explosion of coronavirus infections in China, at a meeting called this Thursday as an emergency and from which the commitment to continue in contact to examine possible joint initiatives has emerged. , like those that Italy is already publicly demanding.
The European Commission has convened the Health Security Committee, which brings together representatives of the Twenty-seven Ministries of Health, to consider a “coordinated” decision, after the Italian Government announced that it will request a negative coronavirus test from all travelers coming from China.
“The coordination of national responses to serious cross-border threats to health is crucial”, stressed the Community Executive at the end of the meeting. “We need to act together and we will continue our discussions,” the Commission explained on social networks.
The Member States, for their part, “have insisted on the importance of continuing with active surveillance”, according to diplomatic sources who have also highlighted the sequencing of the virus as a “fundamental tool”. The Italian Government has clarified this Thursday that for now it has not detected new variants from the Asian giant.
Spain has stressed during the meeting “the importance of continuing the path of European coordination in health policies”, although for now there is no express commitment at the level of Twenty-seven to adopt short-term measures or to meet again.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health have also insisted in recent hours on their recommendations so that travelers traveling to or from China have the full vaccination schedule. Likewise, from Health they have recalled the importance of the second dose of memory, especially for the most vulnerable people.
EMERGENCY BREAK
Commission sources consulted by Europa Press have recalled before the meeting of the Health Security Committee that, when it was agreed in October to lift the pending mobility restrictions, the possibility of activating an “emergency brake” was also left open to return to impose restrictions “in a coordinated manner”.
This approach was endorsed by the Twenty-seven on December 7, so the block would have room to tighten controls if it considered it necessary to avoid possible side effects derived from the explosion of infections in China.
Brussels recalls that the variant prevalent in China, the omicron BF7, is already present in Europe and “has not grown significantly” in recent weeks. “However, we remain vigilant and are ready to use the emergency brake if necessary,” the sources explained.
