A woman wearing a mouth mask, to prevent against the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19, walks past EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
BRUSSELS — The European Commission will start dispatching a stock of 10 million masks to healthcare workers across the 27-country bloc and in the United Kingdom.
The Commission said the first batch of 1.5 million masks will be shipped to 17 member states and Britain over the next few days. The stock, purchased through an EU fund set up to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, will be distributed in weekly installments over the next six weeks.
“This is EU solidarity in action to help respond to the needs of European health systems and €3 billion has been mobilized from the EU budget to directly support national efforts,” said Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.