EU health agency: Risk of coronavirus infection in Europe "low to moderate"

STR / AFP

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says in its latest report that the risk associated with COVID-19 infection for people in Europe "is currently considered to be low to moderate."

This EU health agency the acronym of which is ECDC says in the press release issued on its website on Sunday evening that “all previously reported cases in the EU/EEA (European Union/ European Economic Area) and the UK have clearly established epidemiological links; contact tracing measures have been in place to contain further spread.”

“Extraordinary public health measures have been implemented in northern Italy and strong efforts are being made to identify, isolate and test contacts in order to contain the outbreak.

“The probability of further transmission in the EU/EEA and the UK is considered to be low, but cannot be excluded because a high level of uncertainties with several unpredictable factors and a situation that is still evolving,” says this agency whose aim is to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases and to contribute to health security.

Since the start of this year, 78 833 cases of COVID-19 (in accordance with the applied case definitions in the affected countries) have been reported.

“As of 23 February 2020, 2 463 deaths have been reported from China (PRC)(2 443), Hong Kong (SAR) (2), Islamic Republic of Iran (5), Republic of Korea (5), Italy (2), on an international conveyance (Japan) (2), Taiwan (1), the Philippines (1), Japan (1) and France (1),” says the ECDC.

According to the latest reprots by Italian media outlets, four persons have so far died from this infection in the north of the country.