EU to hold video summit to assess new virus restrictions

BRUSSELS (AP) — Worried that the new coronavirus variants could result in another surge of deaths across the European Union and push hospitals to the verge of collapse, the 27-nation bloc's leaders will hold a video summit Thursday to assess such measures as further border restrictions, better tracking of mutations and improving coordination of lockdowns.

The highly contagious nature of the variants is a major source of concern and has already led some EU countries to strengthen restrictions by imposing stricter curfews and more stringent mask requirements on public transport and in shops.

In a bid to avoid another wave of panic similar to the one that saw unilateral border closures threaten the flow of goods across the bloc when the coronavirus first hit the continent last spring, the European Commission has issued this week a series of recommendations “for a united front to beat COVID-19."

The EU's executive arm believes that the sanitary situation is at a critical point and urged member states to step up the pace of vaccination, to ensure that at least 80% of those over age 80 are vaccinated by March, and that 70% of the adult population across the bloc is protected by the end of the summer.

But since the EU doesn't expect vaccines to be readily available before the month of April, leaders should in the meantime find efficient ways to contain the new variants. The commission believes that better tracking the virus' mutations with genomic sequencing, coupled with an increased use of rapid antigen tests, will be crucial.

According to the bloc's executive arm, several EU nations are testing under 1% of samples. It has proposed to “urgently" increase genome sequencing to at least 5% of positive test results and would ideally see that figure reach 10% to detect the variants.

Portugal, which holds the EU's...