BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2020) The European Commission is coordinating its response to manage the spread of a novel form of coronavirus on the continent with the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commissioner for Health and food Safety Stella Kyriakides said during a press conference on Wednesday, adding that there are eight laboratory confirmed cases in European Union member states so far.
"I have been, from the beginning, in regular contact with Dr. Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus], the director-general, and the regional director for Europe [Dr. Piroska Ostlin], and follow very closely the assessment carried out by the organization. I welcome the announcements that international experts will be sent to China to provide guidance to boost the understanding of this new virus," Kyriakides stated.
She added that the European Commission intends to strengthen coordination with both WHO and Chinese officials, whom she praised for their rapid sharing of information on the outbreak. The health commissioner also stated that the commission was ready to help combat the spread of the virus in non-EU countries, as well as providing financial support if the situation worsens.
Kyriakides stated that there were eight laboratory confirmed cases so far in Europe: four in Germany and four in France. All the infected persons were currently being treated in special infectious diseases departments, and extensive contact tracing was underway to find anyone who they may have contacted.
Despite these cases, the health commissioner stated that European Union member states were highly prepared to tackle the further spread of the novel form of coronavirus. She mentioned that the Health Security Committee had met three times, while the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control was also actively working to combat further infections.
"Member states reported their access to laboratory diagnosis networks, guidance documents that have already been prepared for travelers, health care professionals as well as the general public," Kyriakides said.
Kyriakides also told journalists that she was in contact with the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union to organize an extraordinary meeting of the Health Council as soon as possible in order to coordinate strategy and increase levels of preparedness in the European Union.
The four infected persons in Germany are all based in the Bavaria. Three new cases were announced on Wednesday, and were all linked to the first confirmed case that was reported on Monday. In France, three of the infected persons are being treated in Paris, while the fourth is based in Bordeaux.
WHO is set to convene an Emergency Committee meeting on Thursday to discuss the rapid spread of the virus. WHO's director-general traveled to China and praised the country's response to the outbreak during a meeting with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday.
The novel strain of coronavirus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December. It has since spread within China and to at least 15 other countries. So far, there are about 6,000 confirmed cases in China alone. 133 people in China have died after contracting the virus.
