On 10th February 2020, Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, visited the EU Emergency Response Coordination Centre and gave a press conference. On 28 January 2020, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated following a request for assistance from France to provide consular support to EU citizens in Wuhan, China. 

Context: In late 2019, a novel coronavirus related to a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China (2019-nCoV) was identified. Coronaviruses were identified in the mid-60s and are known to infect humans and a variety of animals (including birds and mammals). This family of viruses are known to cause illness in humans ranging from the common cold to more severe or even fatal diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), since 31 December 2019 and as of 3 February 2020, 17 383 laboratory-confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (originally named 2019-nCoV but renamed by WHO on 11/02/2020 Covid-19) infection have been reported and 362 deaths.  Cases have been reported on the following continents: Asia, Europe, America and Oceania. At the time being, there are still many unknowns regarding to the virulence and pathogenicity of the virus, the severity of affected patients, its transmission patterns, reservoir and source of infection. Epidemiological analyses available to date are also limited which leads to many uncertainties on the characteristics and the dynamic of the outbreak.