A Covid counterfactual for Europe – MENAFN.COM

A Covid counterfactual for Europe – MENAFN.COM

A worker hands out a leaflet to a person arriving at a rapid lateral flow Covid testing centre at London Bridge train station in central London. From tomorrow, people living in England will be able to access two free rapid coronavirus tests per week, a measure aimed at curbing symptom-free virus spread. (AFP) (MENAFN - Gulf Times) Imagine that the coronavirus pandemic, rather than undermining confidence in the European Union, had strengthened it. Imagine that Covid-19 had persuaded EU leaders to overcome years of acrimony and fragmentation. Imagine that it had catalysed the emergence this year of a stronger, more integrated bloc to which the world looked for global leadership. Imagine. It isn't hard to do. At the end of February 2020, two weeks before the World Health Organisation declared a pandemic, the EU Council had already instructed the European Commission to coordinate Europe's war against the coronavirus. Within days, the Commission compiled a list of essential gear in short supply across Europe, from protective equipment to intensive care units, and placed orders with manufacturers. It also convened Cov-Comm, a committee of top epidemiologists and representatives of EU public health systems to offer daily guidance. Liberated of the need to