EU health ministers to hold urgent talks on Ebola Friday
Health workers dress up in personal protective equipment at the Evangelical Medical Center, one of the facilities at the forefront of the response to the Ebola outbreak, as agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 31. Reuters-Yonhap
BRUSSELS, Belgium — EU health ministers will hold "extraordinary" online talks on Friday to discuss the Ebola outbreak in central Africa, an official said.
Starting at 1 p.m., the ministers will "discuss further preparedness and coordination measures across member states," a spokesperson for Cyprus, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said on Monday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had asked the EU for stricter border controls last week because of the outbreak — and had requested an urgent videoconference of health ministers.
The issue will be discussed further at another, ordinary meeting of health ministers in Luxembourg on June 16 "to support coordinated action," the spokesperson added.
The EU has previously said the risk to Europeans from Ebola is very low.