Fri 30 October 2020:
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems in the European Union if it does not act urgently, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday.
Von der Leyen was speaking after EU leaders met via a video conference to find common ground on COVID-19 testing and vaccination strategies, as well as increased coordination in fighting the surging numbers of infections across the continent.
Von der Leyen said that the EU has made €220 million ($260 million) available to quickly move COVID-19 patients across borders for treatment in other Member States.
The Commission said it was intensifying its efforts to procure potential vaccines. The EU is now in talks with four companies to obtain vaccines, and has already inked supply deals with three others, including AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson.
More than 1.3 million coronavirus cases were confirmed in Europe last week alone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and hospitals are becoming stretched in many EU countries.
As Germany, France, Italy and Spain head into lockdowns of varying degrees, the 27 leaders within the bloc felt it necessary to hold urgent talks.
Von der Leyen said “I understand how tired and worried everyone is, but now is the time for patience, determination and discipline for all of us.”
She also warned that European nations acted too quickly to remove lockdown measures after the initial wave of infections earlier this year.
Von der Leyen spoke similarly, saying border closures only served to hurt the EU economies.
“I think we have all learnt the lessons,” von der Leyen said. “It took very little time to understand that this is hampering the single market, the flow of goods.”
“It did not stop the spread of the virus.”
However, she said EU citizens should restrict travel to essential trips for the time being.
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