Concerned about a new wave of hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months, European Union leaders at a video conference on Thursday called for more measures to combat the spread of coronavirus variants.
The 27 leaders expressed great concern about the virus mutations and looked at further border restrictions, such as limits on all non-essential journeys, better detection of mutations and the improvement of the coordination of locks, and anxious that an increase in deaths throughout EU was at hand.
Some 400,000 EU citizens have died from COVID-19-related causes since the start of the pandemic.
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In a study published just before the summit, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control warned against the major dangers of the new variants, such as those starting in Britain, Brazil and South Africa, and Andrea Ammon, head of the ECDC, said that ‘member states are also encouraged to accelerate the vaccination of high-risk groups, and to prepare the health care system for high demand. ‘
Some EU countries have already stepped up restrictions by imposing stricter curfew rules and stricter mask requirements on public transport and in shops. Among the measures recommended by the ECDC is a ban on non-essential travel and the acceleration of vaccinations.
The EU executive commission believes the health situation is at a critical point and has urged member states to increase the rate of vaccination, ensuring that at least 80% of those over 80 are vaccinated by March and that 70% of the adult population across the block is protected by the end of summer.
But because the EU does not expect vaccines to be ready for mass distribution before April, leaders must meanwhile find effective ways to contain the new variants. The commission believes it will be important to track the mutations of the virus in genomic order, along with increased use of rapid antigen testing.
The EU Commission said several EU countries test less than 1% of the samples. It is suggested to increase genome order ‘urgently’ to at least 5% of the positive test results and it would be ideal for the figure to reach 10% to detect the variants.
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Member states unanimously agreed on Thursday on a common framework for the use of rapid antigen testing and the mutual recognition of PCR test results in the block of 450 million inhabitants, in an effort to facilitate cross-border movement, detection of the virus and treatment.
“This is a key tool to reduce the spread of the virus and to contribute to the smooth functioning of the internal market,” the EU Council said in a statement.