The European Commission is set to say the EU has entered a new post-emergency phase of the pandemic in which testing should be targeted and monitoring of COVID-19 cases should be similar to sample-based flu surveillance, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
The shift comes amid a gradual drop in cases and a fall in the number of deaths linked to COVID-19, thanks to the spread of the less virulent Omicron variant and the immunization of over 70% of the EU population, with half of the population having received also a booster shot.
"This Communication puts forward an approach for the management of the pandemic in the coming months, moving from emergency to a more sustainable model," the EU draft document says.
The Commission had no comment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is in charge of declaring a pandemic and the end of it, a move that has vast legal implications for a large variety of sectors, including insurers and vaccine makers. The U.N. agency has said the pandemic is not over.
The EU's document is non-binding and comes with clear warnings that "COVID-19 is here to stay", likely with the emergence of new variants, and therefore "vigilance and preparedness remain essential."
The draft document, prepared by Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and set to be adopted on Wednesday, warns that new surges are possible and recommends EU governments keep up their guard and be ready to return to emergency measures if needed.
However, it also acknowledges that a new phase has started and that a new approach is needed to monitor the pandemic.
That means that mass testing, whereby people with symptoms and their contacts must undergo a test, has been already dropped in some EU states, in stark contrast with policies currently applied in China where large cities are subjected to lockdowns and regular mass testing after the detection of few cases.
The Commission recognizes this shift, noting that less testing could make it harder to interpret epidemiological data.