Urgent meeting on Covid-19, the European Union is really worried

"We will hold an urgent video conference with the leaders of the bloc's countries. We need to cooperate to protect the health of our citizens," European Council (EC) President Charles Michel wrote on Twitter today.

French President Emmanuel Macron also announced the meeting, stressing that unity is strength in dealing with Covid-19. "I call on European partners to act quickly to coordinate health measures, research efforts and economic responses," President Macron wrote on Twitter.

The meeting took place in the context of European countries not having a unified response plan to the Covid-19 epidemic. Many countries accused France and Germany of acting unilaterally by banning the export of some medical items.

Covid-19, which originated in Wuhan in December 2019, has spread to 109 countries and territories, infecting more than 111,000 people and killing more than 3,800. Several European Union members have reported positive cases of Covid-19, with Italy, Germany and France being the countries with the largest number of cases.

Italy today recorded 1,492 more cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 7,375, becoming the third largest Covid-19 outbreak in the world, after mainland China and South Korea. Italy is also the country with the second highest number of deaths due to Covid-19 in the world, after China, with 366 cases.

France and Germany are also reporting new cases every day. France has more than 1,200 cases, including 19 deaths, while Germany has more than 1,100 cases but no deaths.