Border closures in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion (EMR), which includes areas in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, have had no real effect on the spread of COVID-19, data show. However, border closures may have had unintended health-related consequences, creating additional barriers for those needing cross-border treatment. EMR is a member of the WHO Regions for Health Network.
A study by euPrevent, a Euroregional network that focuses on promoting health, found that distribution of the virus was mainly determined nationally and not Euroregionally. Since the start of the pandemic people living in border regions have been greatly affected by the inconsistency resulting from the different national strategies adopted by EU countries to tackle COVID-19. The different measures implemented by EU countries to protect their citizens have involved little consideration for the special nature of border regions like EMR or the negative effects of control measures on these regions.
In the EMR border area this has created many practical problems, for example, in relation to cross-border commuter traffic and school traffic. Travelling to school and work in this region has always involved cross-border travel, which has been restricted by the differences in national measures taken to tackle the virus.
Methodology of the study
On 16 December 2021 euPrevent held a meeting to present the findings of the study on the impact of COVID-19 on the EMR border region. The effects of border closures were also assessed to understand whether this measure had been effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19 in EMR. Dr Bettina Menne, WHO Healthy Settings Coordinator, discussed the impact of the virus on Regional Health Network members and the lessons they had learned.
The study consisted of two parts: (i) quantitative research involving the collection and analysis of two rounds of blood samples to determine the development of COVID-19 antibodies among EMR citizens; and (ii) determining the relationship between the results of the analysis and the different measures taken in the EMR countries (including vaccination behaviour and mobility restrictions).