Arrival and doorstep by Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, at the Extraordinary Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health), taking place on 13 February 2020, in Brussels.
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Good morning everyone. Today's council is an important one for the EU in the response of the epidemic of the corona virus, or Covid-19 as it is officially known now. I have supported the presidency to convene this health council from the very beginning. Viruses know no borders. And in this sense, European Union member states need to work together in a coordinated way so they can face this challenge. Today we will be discussing the level of preparedness and coordination between the EU member states although the number of confirmed cases is relatively low, we need to be vigilant and coordinated. Working together is the only way we'll be able to face the challenge of this epidemic both within the member states and globally. Thank you very much.

The Council holds an exchange of views on the Novel coronavirus outbreak and discuss solutions to existing challenges to prevent the spreading of the outbreak within the EU.

Ministers are expected to adopt conclusions in relation to the EU response to the Novel coronavirus outbreak.

In December 2019, there was an outbreak of a Novel coronavirus in the Chinese municipality of Wuhan, quickly spreading in other regions of China and the world. By January 2020, there were isolated cases in some EU member states.

Therefore, on 28 January 2020, the Croatian presidency decided to activate the EU's crisis response mechanism (IPCR) in information sharing mode, in order to facilitate the development of a common understanding of the situation among member states and the institutions, including on the measures being taken.

On the same day the Commission activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism at the request for assistance from France to organise and coordinate support to EU citizens affected by the Novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

On 7 February 2020, the Croatian presidency convened an informal high level video conference where member states discussed measures in place at EU and national level in relation to the Novel coronavirus outbreak and prepared for the extraordinary Council.

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