COVID-19: EU pledges to help stranded citizens

By Yusuf Hatip

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union pledged to help 100,000 citizens stranded outside the continent, the head of the European Commission said Thursday.

“We work closely with national governments on bringing them back to the EU [emoji]. In times like this it’s good to be part of a strong community: our European Union!,” Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.

“We work closely with national governments on this. European diplomats around the globe provide assistance, right now we help organize 13 to repatriate Europeans from Egypt, Morocco, Philippines, Tunisia, Argentine, you name it. There will be more than 3,000 onboard,” von der Leyen said in a video accompanying the tweet.

“We are getting ready to bring home Europeans from Peru, Maldives, Mongolia and many African countries,” she added.

Since first being detected in Wuhan, China in December, the novel coronavirus has claimed more than 9,000 lives globally, according to global data maintained by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

More than 222,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in at least 159 countries and territories, with Europe the new epicenter of the pandemic, according to data by the university.

Despite the rising number of cases, most who become infected suffer mild symptoms and recover.