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The Coronavirus is a highly infectious disease. Everyone is responsible for reducing the spread and must take simple precautions. You must protect yourself and those around you. On 17 March, the Commission launched a tender for ventilators with 25 member states participating. #rescEU #stockpile #eudebates #coronavirusitalla #Covid_19 #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak #Corona #COVD19 #Health #EUCO #COVID #ventilators

Personal protective equipment – masks, gloves, goggles, face-shields, and overalls – as well as medical ventilators and testing kits are vital for hospitals, healthcare professionals, patients, field workers and civil protection authorities. The voluntary Joint Procurement Agreement with Member States (and the United Kingdom and Norway) enables the joint purchase of such equipment and supplies.

The Commission launched four different calls for tender for medical equipment and supplies on 28 February (gloves and surgical gowns), 17 March (personal protective equipment for eye and respiratory protection, as well as medical ventilators and respiratory equipment), and 19 March (laboratory equipment, including testing kits) - with participation of up to 25 Member States.

These initiatives are proving successful. In response to the first call, the Commission has received offers that can match the requests. Evaluations have finished and contracts are expected to be signed in the coming weeks. The equipment should then be available in the Member States shortly.

When conducting joint procurements, the European Commission has a coordinating role, while the Member States purchase the goods.

On 1 April, the European Commission published guidance on how to use all the flexibilities offered by the EU public procurement framework in the emergency situation related to the coronavirus outbreak. The guidance provides an overview of the tendering procedures available to public buyers, applicable deadlines, and examples of how public buyers could find alternative solutions and ways of engaging with the market to supply much needed medical supplies. This guidance makes it easier for public buyers to supply vital protective equipment and medical supplies to those in need, by making it easier to conduct public procurements while still upholding high safety and quality standards.

To address the Coronavirus outbreak, manufacturers in Europe and the European Commission must collaborate to massively ramp-up overall production of personal protective equipment, the Commission and the European Standardisation Organisations agreed on 20 March that all the relevant European harmonised standards will exceptionally be made freely and fully available for all interested companies. This action will help both EU and third-country companies to manufacture these items without compromising on our health and safety standards and without undue delays.

On 24 March, Commission adopted decisions on revised harmonised standards that will allow manufacturers to place on the market high performing devices to protect patients, health care professionals and citizens in general. Revised standards play a pivotal role because they relate to critical devices such as medical facemasks, surgical drapes, gowns and suits, washer-disinfectors or sterilization.

The harmonised standards will cover equipment such as medical facemasks, personal eye protection, medical gloves, protective clothing as well as respiratory protective devices.

On 30 March, Commission announced that it will be making guidance available in three areas to assist manufacturers in increasing the output of essential medical equipment and material: the production personal protective equipment such as masks, leave-on hand cleaners and hand disinfectants and 3D printing. Guidance on medical devices in the Coronavirus context was published on 3 April. These documents can assist manufacturers and market surveillance authorities in ensuring that these products are effective and comply with necessary safety standards.

On 19 March, as an additional safety net, the Commission proposed creating a strategic rescEU stockpiling – a common European reserve - of medical equipment such as ventilators, personal protective equipment, reusable masks, vaccines and therapeutics and laboratory supplies. The Commission will finance 90% of the costs of the stockpiling and will manage the distribution of the equipment to ensure it goes where it is needed most.

Already on 15 March, the Commission took steps to secure the availability of personal protective equipment, by requiring exports of such equipment destined for outside the European Union to be subject to an export authorisation by Member States. On 19 March, the Commission approved guidance (accompanied by an annex) on how to implement these measures. As a result, almost all Member States have lifted by now national export restrictions and the protective equipment can be delivered seamlessly across the Union to where it is most needed.