BRUSSELS (AP) – EU leaders agree that borders should remain open and assess further measures to combat the spread of coronavirus variants during a video summit on Thursday as the head of disease control of the block said urgent action was needed to prevent a new wave of hospitalizations and deaths.
Expressing great concern about the virus mutations, the 27 leaders examined other border restrictions, such as limits on all non-essential travel, better monitoring of mutations, and better coordination of blockages.
Despite being concerned that another increase in deaths across the EU was imminent, they could not immediately agree on whether or not non-essential travel would be stopped.
“It is of great importance not to travel, but it cannot be applied immediately legally,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said after the conference call.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted on the importance of keeping borders open to ensure goods continue to move smoothly, introducing measures “that protect us all”.
He said leaders discussed a proposal to introduce new cross-border “dark red areas” where infection rates are particularly high and where all non-essential travel should be discouraged. Travelers in these areas may have to undergo tests before departure and be isolated when arriving elsewhere. Von der Leyen said the commission will make precise recommendations to member states in the coming days.
Some 400,000 EU citizens have died from COVID-19-related causes since the start of the pandemic, and Andrea Ammon, head of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said that “a growing number of infections it will lead to hospitalization and mortality rates in all age groups, especially for those in older age groups ”.
In a study published just before the summit, the ECDC warned of the high dangers of new variants, such as those starting in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. Ammon said “Member States are also advised to speed up vaccination of high-risk groups and prepare the healthcare system for high demand.”
Some EU countries have already tightened restrictions by imposing stricter curfews and stricter mask requirements on public transport and trade. Among the measures recommended by the ECDC are the ban on non-essential travel and the acceleration of vaccinations.
“Most said free movement must survive, but that it is vital to ask not to travel,” Rutte said. “It is essential that we discourage travel to Europe as much as possible. You don’t travel, you just don’t travel. ”
Echoing ECDC advice, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had proposed a temporary ban on non-essential travel during the February school holidays.
With the health situation at a critical juncture, the commission also urged member states before the meeting to increase the pace of vaccination, to ensure that at least 80% of those over 80 are vaccinated in March and that 70% of the adults the population of the whole block is protected at the end of summer.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, said there was “global and clear support for this proposal”.
But as the EU does not expect vaccines to be ready for mass distribution before April, leaders should, meanwhile, find efficient ways to contain the new variants. The commission believes better monitoring of virus mutations with genomic sequencing will be crucial, along with increased use of rapid antigen testing.
The EU Commission said several EU countries are testing less than 1% of the samples. It has been proposed to “urgently” increase genome sequencing to at least 5% of the positive test results, and ideally I would see this figure reach 10% to detect variants. Member states unanimously agreed on Thursday on a common framework for the use of rapid antigen testing and mutual recognition of PCR test results across the entire 450 million population block.
Discussions also focused on halting vaccine delivery after last week Pfizer announced a temporary reduction that has affected all EU countries. The EU has sealed six vaccine contracts for more than 2 billion doses, but so far only Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been approved.
The EU now expects Pfizer to keep the drop in deliveries limited to this week, while resuming full distribution again next week, with the ransom accumulated during the month of February.
Leaders also weighed in on the Greek proposal to issue vaccination certificates to facilitate travel. But with doubts about whether vaccinated people could remain contagious and only a small fraction of the EU population already vaccinated, they agreed that it was too early to decide whether vaccination test certificates should be considered as documents of vaccination. journey.
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Associated Press writer Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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