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Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has called on the member states of the European Union to increase cooperation in the fight against Covid-19.
His comments come as EU health ministers received a harsh update from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the rise of Covid-19 in Europe.
The 14-day incident rate for the EU / EEA and UK has increased from 249.8 per 100,000 population (14 days to October 18) to 360.2 last week (14 days to October 25). The rate has been increasing for 98 days.
At the meeting, Donnelly urged his counterparts across Europe to work together to improve information sharing in critical areas.
He said: “EU cooperation is needed now more than ever. There are experts looking at all aspects of Covid-19 in every country in Europe, and that collective knowledge is very important to us during this pandemic.”
“Today I asked my fellow EU health ministers to ensure that we work together to share this knowledge.”
Donnelly added: “This information will cover a number of issues that we are all dealing with across the EU.
“This includes the effectiveness of measures to stop the cross-border importation of the disease, the success rates of policy responses in virus suppression, the rates and types of tests that are implemented, the validation of rapid test technologies, and the flight test validation, which will be an integral part of the EU’s new agreed approach to international travel. “
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Last night, the EU said it will fund the movement of patients across borders to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed as coronavirus infections and hospitalizations skyrocket across the continent.
In a video conference by EU leaders last night, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that € 220 million would be made available to patients across borders when needed.
The leaders spoke for several hours about their response to the critical issues now at stake, including how to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, accelerate the search for a vaccine, make sure national contact tracing apps can interact with those of other member states and how to ensure that travel restrictions do not strangle the economy.
We attended a meeting of EU Health Ministers today where we discussed our role in strengthening @WHO. I reaffirmed Ireland’s support for the WHO, which is playing a central role in the fight against Covid. A strong WHO is vital for the health of everyone around the world https://t.co/iwVMcCKGh1 pic.twitter.com/mJa6HNW0fm
– Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) October 30, 2020
Ms Von der Leyen said the EU would work for rapid validation in member states of rapid antibody tests, which give faster results than standard nasal swab tests.
The commission is also stepping up its efforts to secure potential vaccines. Brussels is in talks with four companies and has already closed supply agreements with three others.
EU leaders committed to a fair distribution of vaccines once available and would be done in proportion to the population.
In general, leaders are desperate to avoid a repeat of the first wave during which borders were spontaneously closed and some countries boarded medical teams.
However, some leaders recognized that public health remains a national competence.
Additional information: Tony Connelly
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