Summary
European governments hope that contact tracing apps can allow them to ease lockdowns. But much work must be done at both national and EU level before restrictions can be eased.
There are growing calls for lifting lockdowns across European countries. Austria and Denmark have already announced plans to open schools. But ending lockdowns without mass testing and contact tracing firmly in place will be very dangerous, as COVID-19 is far more infectious than its predecessors, like SARS. Even with rigorous testing and contact tracing, some curbs on social contact will be needed, and lockdown measures will need to be eased step by step. Once it has been shown that restrictions can be eased while containing the spread of the disease, there will still need to be co-ordination at the EU level to allow travel between member-states. Without trust in each other’s exit strategies, countries will be wary of opening up.
In this article, John Springford, Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform, stresses that mass testing and contact tracing apps must be in place before lockdowns can be eased in Europe - and that the EU has an important role to play.
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