Unic Press UK: In a response to the disruptions emanating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union (EU) countries adopted Tuesday a series of guidelines that would minimise hitches and facilitate free movement across the bloc.
With the new guidelines, which is expected to “help member states take decisions based on the epidemiological situation region by region”, each EU country would be providing the necessary data that are needed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to make [on a weekly basis] a common colour-coded map broken down by region. The data from member states are to be provided on the following criteria:.
- Number of cases per 100 000 population in the last 14 days
- Number of tests per 100 000 population carried out in the last week (testing rate)
- Percentage of positive tests carried out in the last week (test positivity rate)
The EU reiterated that, though, the decisions on whether to introduce restrictions to free movement to protect public health remains the responsibility of member states, any restrictions whatsoever have to comply with the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination as described in the EU treaties.
EU countries agreed to coordinate better on travel measures in response to #COVID19:
3️⃣ common key criteria
🗺️ @ECDC_EU will publish a weekly colour-coded map
🦠😷 common framework on measures
ℹ️ communicate to the public 24h before introducing new measures#StrongerTogether— EU Council (@EUCouncil) October 13, 2020
