In 20 EU/EEA countries, it appears that the initial wave of transmission has passed its peak, with a decline in the number of newly reported cases. This comes out from the latest European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Risk Assessment report published on Thursday.
Since 31 December 2019 and as of 22 April 2020, approximately 2.5 million (2 524 812) cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide and 177 780 deaths. Of these, 988 241 cases were reported by EU/EEA countries and the UK, including 105 064 deaths.
The COVID-19 pandemic is posing an unprecedented threat to EU/EEA countries and the UK, which have been experiencing widespread transmission of the virus in the community for several weeks.
In addition, there has been an increasing number of reports of COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care homes across Europe with high associated mortality, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of the elderly in this setting.
The absence of an effective treatment or a vaccine combined with an exponential growth in infections from late February, led many countries to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions such as ‘stay-at-home’ policies (recommended or enforced) alongside other community and physical distancing measures such as the cancellation of mass gatherings, closure of educational institutions and public spaces.
This approach has collectively reduced transmission and the 14-day incidence in the EU/EEA and the UK overall has declined by 18% since 8 April.
The question is therefore how Member States can minimise the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare systems and citizen’s health while restarting economic and social activities. The Joint European Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment measures addresses this question by providing a framework for a comprehensive economic and social recovery plan for the EU, with public health actions at its core.
The recommendations include
- A robust surveillance strategy based on enhanced testing, which thoroughly and continuously monitors the pandemic by gathering comparable data among Member States, monitors the intensity and geographical spread, detects nosocomial outbreaks, identifies and monitors changes in risk groups, provides information about age- specific population immunity, measures the impact on healthcare systems, monitors viral changes and measures the impact of mitigation and physical distancing measures (and their adjustments) through appropriate epidemiological indicators and criteria.
- An expanded testing capacity and harmonised testing methodologies for the purpose of epidemiological surveillance, early detection and isolation of cases, clinical management, contact tracing, protecting risk groups, assessing population immunity, return-to-work strategies. This includes alignment of testing methodologies, development and ramping up of sustained COVID-19 diagnostic capacity, set-up of adequate testing schemes, validation and rollout of serological testing.
- A framework for contact tracing, based on extensive testing, active case finding, early detection of cases, isolation of cases, quarantine and follow-up of contacts, possibly supported by electronic tools and applications.
- Sufficient healthcare capacity and resilience, including recovered general capacity (not related to COVID- 19) and sufficient hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Monitoring and estimating resource-needs is crucial to ensure that healthcare systems have the capacity to respond to a new surge in cases. Prioritisation should be given to build capacities related to medical, IPC, laboratory and contact tracing equipment as well as human resources.
Global Situation Analysis
Africa: 25 686 cases; the five countries reporting most cases are South Africa (3 635), Egypt (3 490), Morocco (3 377), Algeria (2 910) and Cameroon (1 163).
Asia: 417 615 cases; the five countries reporting most cases are Turkey (98 674), Iran (85 996), China (83 876), India (21 393) and Israel (14 592).
America: 1 005 660 cases; the five countries reporting most cases are United States (842 629), Brazil (45 757), Canada (40 179), Peru (19 250) and Chile (11 296).
Europe: 1 130 393 cases; the five countries reporting most cases are Spain (208 389), Italy (187 327), Germany (148 046), United Kingdom (133 495) and France (119 151).
Oceania: 8 018 cases; the five countries reporting most cases are Australia (6 654), New Zealand (1 112), Guam (137), French Polynesia (57) and Fiji (18).
Other: 696 cases have been reported from an international conveyance in Japan.
Deaths have been reported from:
Africa: 1 232 deaths; the five countries reporting most deaths are Algeria (402), Egypt (264), Morocco (149), South Africa (65) and Cameroon (43).
Asia: 15 781 deaths; the five countries reporting most deaths are Iran (5 391), China (4 636), Turkey (2 376), India (681) and Indonesia (635).
America: 54 950 deaths; the five countries reporting most deaths are United States (46 784), Brazil (2 906), Canada (1 974), Mexico (970) and Ecuador (537).
Europe: 110 741 deaths; the five countries reporting most deaths are Italy (25 085), Spain (21 717), France (21 340), United Kingdom (18 100) and Belgium (6 262).
Oceania: 97 deaths; the five countries reporting most deaths are Australia (74), New Zealand (16), Guam (5), Northern Mariana Islands (2) and Fiji (0).
Other: 7 deaths have been reported from an international conveyance in Japan.
ECDC / EU
