Question écrite de
Mme Joanna KOPCIŃSKA
-
Commission européenne
Subject: Rapid growth of SARS-CoV-2 variant with multiple mutations observed in the UK
Over the past few weeks, the UK has faced a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the south-eastern part of the country, spurring increased epidemiological and virological research. Analysis of data on the virus genome sequence showed that a large number of cases belonged to a single new phylogenetic cluster.
According to the ECDC Risk Assessment (Threat Assessment Brief of 20 December 2020), a preliminary analysis carried out in the UK suggests that this variant is much more infectious than the previously circulating variants in terms of the potential for an increase in the reproductive count. So far, several cases involving the new variant have been reported in Denmark and the Netherlands and, according to media reports, in Belgium.
On 20 December 2020, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium banned all flights from the UK in order to prevent the spread of the new viral mutation.
1. Does the Commission plan to implement any special monitoring procedures through its executive agencies in the event of a marked increase in the number of cases of infection with the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 or other new variants of SARS-CoV-2 posing a potential risk in other Member States?
2. Have the Member States received appropriate instructions on the procedure for notifying and reporting possible cases of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant through the Early Warning and Response System of the European Union?
Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
(11 February 2021)
Since the United Kingdom informed the Commission and other Member States of the new variant and as pointed out in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Threat Assessment on the ‘Risk Related to the spread of the new SARS- COV-2 variant of concern in the EU/EEA’, published in December 2020 and updated in January 2021 (1), Member States have been invited to notify cases of the new variant as well as any other new variant on the Early Warning and Response System and on the European Surveillance System for case-based surveillance and aggregate reporting.
In addition, it was highlighted during the Health Security Committee meeting of the 21 December 2020 (2), as well as in the ECDC Threat Assessments, that in order to be able to detect introductions of known variants, as well as emergence of new variants of concerns, Member States need to perform timely genome sequencing of a significant and representative selection of isolates.
Finally, the Commission adopted on 19 January 2021 a communication on ‘A united front to beat COVID-19’ (3) recommending that all Member States increase their genome sequencing rates to identify known and new variants.
⋅1∙ https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/COVID-19-risk-related-to-spread-of-new-SARS-CoV-2-variants-EU-EEA.pdf —
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/COVID-19-risk-related-to-spread-of-new-SARS-CoV-2-variants-EU-EEA-first-update.pdf ⋅2∙ https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/preparedness_response/docs/ev_20201221_sr_en.pdf ⋅3∙ https://ec.europa.eu/info/files/communication-united-front-beat-covid-19_en