Europe is unprepared for swift transmission of new diseases – Alfred Sant

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant has said that Europe is unprepared for the swift transmission of new diseases.

He noted that, over the years in the context of globalization, Europe has constructed a single market for goods, services and movement of people.

Citizens have grown accustomed to consider these as positive developments but are now understanding what they can bring in their wake: the swift transmission of new diseases, he said.

In a statement to the European Parliament, Sant said that “we are unprepared... and not just in Europe”. The coronavirus epidemic is scary not simply because it is a “new” disease, but because it also travelled so fast, he said.

Alfred Sant stated that, on the medical front, the new and perhaps unforeseen problems that now confront us are apparent. Can medical research be geared up to match the pace the coronavirus travels at?

“There are other fronts where similar developments could occur. Are there any other unforeseen consequences of globalisation, apart from epidemics, that might hit our citizens directly and fast? These questions might seem to be academic at this point in time. Answers to them, though, will impinge drastically on the quality of life of our citizens.”

Alfred Sant told the European Parliament that, beyond expressions of solidarity with each other on the corona virus epidemic, “we need to be clear about the implications for ordinary citizens, including those not affected by the corona disease, of what has been happening.”