Virus not high threat to workers, EU says, causing outcry

BRUSSELS — The European Commission classified the new coronavirus as a mid-level threat to workers, drawing criticism from socialist lawmakers because the move will allow less stringent workplace safety measures than if the virus was deemed a high risk.

The decision has wide economic and health implications as it could affect companies’ costs in restarting business activity and have an impact on workers’ safety.

The Commission, the EU’S executive arm, classified the new coronavirus as a level-3 hazard on a four-step risk list on which level 4 is the highest.

Under EU rules, a level-3 virus “can cause severe human disease and present a serious hazard to workers; it may present a risk of spreading to the community, but there is usually effective prophylaxis or treatment available”.

Level-4 biological agents pose a “high risk” of infection with no prophylaxis or treatment available.

There is currently no treatment to prevent or cure COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, which has killed nearly 380,000 people worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission said several criteria are used to classify biological hazards and none of them has more weight than others.

“The existence or absence of prophylaxis cannot be considered as a standalone criterion,” the spokeswoman said.

The decision followed consultations with scientists and with the World Health Organisation, and it was supported by experts from the 27 EU states, based on the most recent data on the epidemic, she added.