ZCZC
BFF-19
HEALTH-VIRUS-EU
Politicians ‘underestimated’ virus threat: EU chief
BERLIN, March 18, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Political leaders “underestimated” the
magnitude of the danger posed by the coronavirus, the president of the
European Commission admitted Wednesday, as the EU shut its borders.
“I think that all of us who are not experts initially underestimated the
coronavirus,” Ursula von der Leyen told Germany’s Bild newspaper in an
interview published Wednesday.
“But now it is clear that this is a virus that will keep us busy for a long
time yet.”
“We understand that measures that seemed drastic two or three weeks ago,
need to be taken now,” she added.
The coronavirus outbreak, which first emerged in China late last year, has
quickly marched across the globe, infecting nearly 200,000 people and killing
7,900 as governments scramble to contain it.
But von der Leyen rejected the language of French president Emmanuel
Macron, who likened the outbreak to war this week, and ordered almost the
entire population to stay at home for at least two weeks.
“I will not personally use that term but I understand the motivation of the
French president as the coronavirus is a worrying enemy.”
Germany’s economy minister Peter Altmaier said the United States under
Donald Trump had taken the threat of the virus even more lightly.
“The outbreak of the crisis was probably underestimated even more so in the
US than in some countries in Europe,” Peter Altmaier told Germany’s regional
press group Funke.
“That is the reason we very much hope that the US will manage to control
the situation, also in our own interest,” he added.
“No-one hopes that the US economy would fall into an uncontrolled
recession.”
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1344 hrs