BRUSSELS: The EU urged member countries Friday to put health screening procedures in place at their borders to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus but said they must coordinate so people can still quickly get the medical care they need.
The World Health Organization said on Friday that Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic that has claimed 5,000 lives around the world.
More than 22,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed across Europe, and more than 1,000 people so far have died on the continent.
With Italy at the epicenter of Europe’s outbreak, neighboring Austria and Slovenia moved to restrict traffic at their borders, raising questions about the movement of food and medical equipment. But other nations, like the Czech Republic and Poland, are taking action too.
“What we can do, and what we should do, is to carry out health screening measures,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
Preliminary checks for signs of infection could be done at borders between the 26 nations that make up the passport-free Schengen Area, but also at the EU’s external borders and within individual countries, von der Leyen said.
BACKGROUND
More than 22,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed across Europe, and more than 1,000 people so far have died on the continent.
The ID-check free area is a jewel in Europe’s crown. Besides smoothing travel arrangements, it allows businesses and transportation to move easily across borders of the countries within the Schengen zone, which share common security standards. The EU’s executive commission polices the zone’s rules.
“In the last few hours, we’ve seen travel bans and controls being put in place in a number of member states,” von der Leyen told reporters. “Certain controls may be justified, but general travel bans are not seen as being the most effective by the World Health Organization. Moreover, they have a strong social and economic impact, they disrupt people’s lives and business across the borders.”
“Any measure that is taken must be proportionate” and coordinated with Brussels, she said.
