Lack of initial information

A pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China was first reported to the WHO Country Office in China on 31 December 2019. On 30 January, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). On 11 March, WHO Director General characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic.

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A slow response

The European Union has come under fire for its slow response in the coronavirus outbreak. Although there have been large efforts to address the crisis at European level, not all measures were timely agreed by the Member States

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Lack of co-ordination between Member States

The EU response to the COVID-19 pandemic has exhibited a lack of coordination between Member States in terms of public health measures including the restriction of movement of people within and across borders and the suspension of other rights and laws; the economy has been put on hold with dramatic effects of disruption on European citizens, self-employed, businesses and workers.

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Containment measures effectiveness depend on how efficiently we communicate them

Containment measures work only as long as people are willing to abide by them. And people's willingness is directly proportional to how the message is communicated and how often.

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Medical science gets politicized in the absence of a correct communication of relief efforts

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Wednesday for a controversial dual therapy based on hydroxychloroquine to be tested as soon as possible

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Lack of resources

The Lombardy doctors said that two major measures may have alleviated the severe stress the outbreak has placed on the region's health systems: an immediate increase in COVID-19 lab testing and creation of a large facility just for infected patients. More resources should be invested to contain the epidemic.

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More patients than ventilators

The head of Germany’s research agency for infectious diseases warned that the healthcare system could be overrun

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The strain on the health systems was not only logistic

Before, the health services, here in Italy, as in most European countries, were focused on individual care. But now they have to start thinking about public health in an outbreak context instead.

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Supplying protective and medical equipment to hospitals became a key challenge

A key challenge is the availability of face masks and other personal protective equipment

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Too many health workers at risk

Virus Knocks Thousands of Health Workers Out of Action in Europe

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Testing shortages

EU countries unable to follow WHO's call for mass testing

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Potential economic losses border on catastrophic

The costs of Europe’s economic hibernation

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Our elderly were not as safe as we believed

Care homes could be where over half of Europe's COVID-19 deaths occur

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Staggering job losses

One million job losses in two weeks is tip of the iceberg

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Our economy was less digital than we thought

Europe didn't bet on domestic big tech development and has nothing to counteract the losses from the most hit sectors. The big winners are the big American tech companies

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Unbalanced domestic economy

EU depends on imports for many manufacturing products, including medical supplies. "Coronavirus forces Europe to confront China dependency"

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New approaches in vaccine science are very rare

In Germany, the biopharmaceutical company Curevac is using the so-called messenger molecule - mRNA - in a vaccine. It's a totally new approach in medicine.

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European sensitive data is not as secured as we think

European Banks Store Their Sensitive Data on American Clouds

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Disinformation and fake news become rampant

Disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 – a sneaky threat

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Not all rapid tests are ready to use in the EU

Are all CE-marked COVID-19 rapid tests ready to use in routine diagnostics?

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Domestic violence increase

Abused women and children may prefer to get sick rather than stay at home for prolonged periods of time

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Mental health at risk

Experts warn prolonged isolation during the pandemic may worsen or trigger mental health problems

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Children are not sufficiently protected

Covid-19 has a "devastating impact on children"

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A new vulnerable group: people that can't or won't use the Internet

16% of Europeans don't use the Internet. Who are they?

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Human rights are at risk

Restrictions on some of our most basic human rights are spreading across Europe almost as fast as the virus itself

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People and businesses may be impeded to seek justice

There may be situations where citizens and businesses need to take procedural action in a cross-border case, but are unable to do so due to emergency measures taken in an EU Member State in order to counter the spread of the COVID-19 virus

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Elections are potponed across the EU

Impact of COVID-19 on elections and referenda in Europe

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Poverty and exclusion

Almost 1/5 of EU population was already at risk of poverty and social exclusion before the pandemic

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Austerity legacy

In Spain, austerity legacy cripples coronavirus fight. Major cuts and wave of privatization has left health care system unprepared to deal with an epidemic.

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Rising inequalities

Are Increasing Inequalities Threatening Democracy in Europe?

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Economic dysfunctionalities

Brexit is given as an example of negative effects from economic dysfunctionalities affecting the EU before the Covid-19 pandemic

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Weakened democracies

Hungary and Poland: Rogue states threatening the EU?

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Powerful lobbying vs weak civil society instruments

Several corporate lobbies have been “jumping at the opportunity to use the pandemic to recycle old lobbying demands. Quite shamelessly, in some cases

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Companies exploiting the system

After $16 Billion of Stock Buybacks, a Tech Company Seeks Government Aid

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Cities are ill prepared for emergencies

COVID-19 is forcing cities around the world to face the reality that they're ill-prepared for emergencies. It’s time to reinvent the modern urban center with an eye toward fully equipped health systems and state-of-the-art digital infrastructure that incorporates unanticipated risks.

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Hospitals were not designed for pandemics

Some of the world’s best health systems are remarkably ill-equipped to handle a pandemic

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Digital infrastructure under strain

The EU’s internet infrastructure is ‘under strain’ and a series of measures should be implemented by online streaming platforms as a means to mitigate the higher demand for bandwidth amid the current coronavirus quarantine period

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How digitized is the EU?

EU in push for digital transformation after COVID-19 crisis

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