EU countries have so far refused Italy's plea for help fighting coronavirus, as national capitals worry that they may need to stockpile face masks and other medical gear to help their own citizens, officials and diplomats said
Spain had focused on an outbreak in the Canary Islands, even locking down an entire resort hotel, but recently discovered that a man who died in Valencia on February 13 was infected, suggesting the virus has been circulating far longer than officials knew.
One EU diplomat said a goal of Friday's health ministers' meeting was to further improve coordination of different national approaches. Just weeks ago, Italy was one of five EU countries, along with France, Germany, Latvia and Estonia, to send more than 30.5 tons of protective equipment to China, with the transport costs jointly financed by the EU.
On Monday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a news conference at the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre to announce the creation of a new "corona response team." "This Health Threat Decision really has improved the coordination of the response," said Anniek de Ruijter, an associate professor at the Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance."When the swine flu broke out, there was a lot of ad hoc policymaking."
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