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Margaritis Schin, vice president of the European Commission, acknowledged that the initial response to the epidemic “was not the best time for Europe” and that EU countries responded in an uncoordinated way.
However, echoed Health Commissioner Stela Kiriakides, who said that both the EC and Member States had learned from its failures and would be better prepared for a possible new outbreak.
“The virus is still with us,” warned the EC vice president, adding that public health measures, including travel restrictions and quarantine, had given the community some time to “strengthen our response capacity. “
With the number of new infections in some parts of Europe, Commission officials have announced a series of measures to prepare hospitals and establish public health policies at the end of the summer.
“Today, our goal is to reduce the risks associated with the coexistence of COVID-19 and seasonal flu beginning next fall. You know this will be the first time that these two cycles coincide,” Schin said.
AFP / Scanpix Photo / Margaritis Schinas
The official responsible for “promoting a European way of life” also added: “We do not want to see the lack of coordination that characterized the initial response of our member states at the start of the pandemic.”
Commissioners have expressed their reluctance to return to the global social and trade quarantine, which has led the bloc to recession, but called for caution.
“Last month, we saw Member States withdraw their isolation measures and that citizens are returning to what I have always called the new normal that everyone desperately needs,” said Kiriakides.
“However, we know and see that Member States are reporting smaller and smaller outbreaks located in many Member States. So today we would like to say that the most important thing is to prepare, especially before the autumn and winter months,” he added.
In the first weeks after the outbreak of the new coronavirus in Europe in February, Brussels struggled to coordinate the response across the EU, prompting many capitals to take unilateral action.
The continent has been considered for some time as the most affected by the pandemic, with 2,873,277 cases of COVID-19 and 203,507 deaths so far.
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