Van Gucht argued in favor of focusing primarily on so-called syndromic surveillance in the future. This means that there is continuous monitoring of certain syndromes or diseases and an alarm can be raised immediately if an abnormal increase is detected.
According to Van Gucht, if the corona outbreak in Wuhan in China had occurred in our country, the alarm would not have been raised so quickly. According to the virologist, this has to do with inadequate financing and follow-up. That is why Van Gucht advocates a so-called ‘one health, one world’ approach, which involves both central coordination and local implementation. According to Van Gucht, this does not necessarily require investment in separate Flemish matters, such as a separate Preparedness cell at the Agency for Care and Health or a Flemish reference lab, but the financing simply needs to be increased. “In the 16 years that I have worked for Sciensano, I have only experienced savings,” concluded Van Gucht.
In the 16 years that I have worked for Sciensano, I have only experienced savings.
Today, the Flemish Parliament discussed a concept note on how Flanders can arm itself against the next pandemic. The management of the corona crisis is now mainly in federal hands. The MPs of the N-VA parliamentary party who submitted the memorandum want Flanders to take more control. For example, they argue that Flanders should no longer be completely dependent on the federal crisis center in emergency situations and that a ‘regional phase’ can also be announced. The memorandum also argues for a ‘disconnection plan’, with criteria that must be met in order to end the federal phase.
Today, during a hearing, Governor of Flemish Brabant Jan Spooren, fire chief of the Antwerp zone Bert Brugghemans and Sciensano virologist Steven Van Gucht were heard.