(Fighting new crown pneumonia) WHO, EU and Italy emergency talks call for collective response in Europe
China News Agency, Berlin, February 26th, Rome news: In response to the rapid development of the epidemic in Italy and throughout Europe, senior officials of the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission and the European Centers for Disease Control, and the Italian government held a special summit in Rome on the 26th. , Focusing on the European epidemic response. The head of the WHO European Region calls on European countries to take a collective response to the outbreak.
According to data released by the World Health Organization's European Regional Office, as of 21:00 pm on the 26th Central European Time, 478 people in Europe (including Russia) have been diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia and the death toll has reached 14. Among them, a total of 400 cases were located in Italy, and Germany, the second most diagnosed, also confirmed 5 cases within 24 hours, increasing the total to 21 cases.
Attending the meeting included Italian Minister of Health Roberto Speranza, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kiriakidis, WHO Regional Head for Europe Hans Kluge and the European Union Andrea Amon, director of the CDC.
Hans Klueger said that European communities are also currently affected by the epidemic, especially in Italy, which has been the most affected. The number of confirmed cases has risen sharply in recent days. Some of these patients have no clear path of infection. China has also had contact with people who have been diagnosed. He said that this poses a huge challenge to Italian officials, but he also pointed out that the Italian leadership has made difficult choices to put public health above economic prosperity. These decisions, although difficult, are correct.
Hans Kluge appealed to European countries to learn from Italy's response when fighting the spread of the epidemic. He said that the Italian experience, although costly, was of great value for people in mastering strategies to deal with the outbreak. He emphasized that the burden caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic is a burden common to all countries, and countries must adopt collective response measures regardless of the current impact or the severity of the impact.
Stella Kiriakidis first urged EU member states to re-evaluate their plans for large-scale infectious diseases and their overall medical capabilities from diagnosis and testing to tracking contacts, and report the assessment and implementation plan to the EU . She also welcomed the consensus on strengthening emergency coordination and information sharing reached by a meeting of health ministers from neighboring Italy in Rome a day ago.
Andrea Amon said that the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention is continuously assessing the overall risk of the Italian epidemic to the European Union and the European Economic Area. "Our current assessment is that we will likely see a situation similar to Italy in Europe, but The specific situation will vary from country to country. "
"With our team of experts in front of the outbreak and our cooperation with WHO's European region and the Italian health sector, I have confidence in significantly increasing awareness of this virus and controlling its further spread." Andrea Amon said that the above cooperation will also help better support the EU's overall epidemic prevention work.
In response to the debate triggered by the spread of the epidemic in other European countries, Roberto Speranza clearly denied the option to suspend the Schengen agreement that day. He emphasized that all European countries agree to open the border, and closing the border will only become an inappropriate and ineffective measure at present. (Finish)