Economy 3 June 2020, 2:11pm

Coronavirus no longer high threat to workers - European Commission

Portfolio

The European Commission has on Wednesday classified the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a mid-level threat to workers, a move that allows employers to apply less stringent safety measures in the workplace than if the virus was deemed a high risk, Reuters reported, ading that the decision has immediately drawn criticism from socialist lawmakers. The decision will impact on companies' costs in fully restarting business activity and workers' safety.

The Commission classified the novel coronavirus as a level-3 hazard on a four-step risk list on which level 4 is the highest.

Under EU rules, a level-3 virus “can cause severe human disease and present a serious hazard to workers; it may present a risk of spreading to the community, but there is usually effective prophylaxis or treatment available”.

Level-4 biological agents pose a “high risk” of infection with no prophylaxis or treatment available.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission said several criteria are used to classify biological hazards and none of them has more weight than others.

“The existence or absence of prophylaxis cannot be considered as a standalone criterion,” the spokeswoman said.

The EU executive said it consulted with scientists from the 27 EU states, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“We strongly oppose the decision by the Commission to classify COVID-19 only as a mid-level hazard. COVID-19 is the biggest health challenge of our lifetime,” said EU lawmaker Agnes Jongerius, who speaks on employment matters for the socialist grouping, the second largest in the EU Parliament.

She said the decision was not taken in a transparent fashion. “There is no public information available about the consulted experts and their reasoning.”

The Commission’s decision is immediately applicable, but the parliament could block it in a vote expected in June.

Cover photo: Getty Images