Covid: The European Union is preparing to declare the end of the emergency phase associated with the epidemic

The European Commission will announce that the European Union has exited the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and entered a new phase during which screening and pollution control privileges must be granted similar to those practiced for influenza, a draft document seen by Reuters shows.

This achievement was reached after a gradual decrease in infections and deaths from the epidemic in the European Union due to the spread of the Omicron variant, which is less virulent than its predecessor, and the immunity of more than 70% of the European population, while half of them received a booster dose. Brussels prefers an approach of “moving away from the state of emergency, towards a more viable method (of pandemic management),” as written in the draft document. No comment was obtained from the European Commission. It is up to the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine when the pandemic begins and when it ends, a move that has wide-ranging legal implications for a range of industries including insurance and laboratories.

However, the epidemic is not over yet.

The UN agency has not yet estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. The EU document, which is non-binding, clearly warns that “Covid-19 is here to stay,” likely as new variables emerge, so “vigilance and preparedness” remains essential. A draft document prepared by the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, which is due to be adopted on Wednesday, warns of the possibility of a new outbreak of the epidemic. EU governments are advised to remain alert and ready to return to emergency measures if necessary.

The text states that a new approach to monitoring the epidemic is needed, and the text calls for systematic screening of people who show symptoms of the disease and those who have been in contact with them – a measure abandoned by some countries in the bloc, marking an important contrast with China where reservations are regulated and a large-scale screening campaign in major cities. Vaccines remain essential in the fight against COVID-19, the draft document emphasizes, and recommends that EU countries consider strategies to boost childhood vaccination before the next school year.

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