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Project euPrevent COVID-19

Since its outbreak in December 2019, COVID-19 has hit the whole world, including Europe, and the EMR has also been heavily impacted. Currently, knowledge on the spread of COVID-19 in the population in relation to compliance with infection prevention measures is limited, but this is the basis for monitoring the disease and deciding whether to impose or lift measures. This project has therefore been developed to collect data on infection prevalence and on infection prevention behaviours, collectively and comparatively, in all the three EMR countries.

Project framework

Final target group: EMR citizens

Duration of the project: 1 August 2020 – 31 December 2021

Funder

Partners

Focus of the project

The goal of the project is to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the EMR: through relating the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies with response measures taken so that we can gain insight into the effects of COVID-19 in a cross-border region like the EMR, and to present this as a showcase for other border regions in the EU (or even broader) on what the effects could be for other border regions.

Activities

Research: Two rounds of blood sampling tests took place in order to see how COVID-19 antibodies have evolved among EMR citizens as a reaction to the various response measures.

Regional citizens’ summits were organised in each country’s own language, providing citizens with a platform to voice how they have experienced the COVID-19.

A conference was organised for presenting the first results of this project and where the first draft report of the recommendations was discussed with experts from all over the EMR and outside.

Results

In addition to the final report that covers the findings of the research and the regional citizen summits, an infographic was drawn to better illustrate the results of the report, and all data acquired through the project was visualised on the Euregional Health Atlas (EHA).

The euPrevent COVID-19 project is being carried out within the context of Interreg V-A Euregio Meuse-Rhine, with € 860,132.70 from the European Regional Development Fund. The project also receives co-financing and project partners pay their own contribution.