Enhancing Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and/or Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) national infrastructures and capacities to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic in the European Union and European Economic Area

The general objective of the action is to enhance and/or improve national public health WGS and/or RT-PCR capacity. Results should be directed, tailored and contributing towards the following expected outcomes:

• In the short-term, contribution to the establishment of a sustainable, efficient and high capacity WGS and/or RT-PCR infrastructure for national public health microbiology;
• In the short/medium-term, contribution to early detection and enhanced monitoring of emergent and known SARS-CoV-2 variants at the national and the EU/EEA levels;
• In the medium/long-term, contribution to enhanced genomic-based infectious disease outbreak investigation capacities at regional, national and/or EU/EEA levels;
• In the medium/long-term, contribution to enhanced routine genomic-based surveillance of infectious diseases at the regional, national and/or EU/EEA levels, in accordance with the “ECDC strategic framework for the integration of molecular and genomic typing into European surveillance and multi-country outbreak investigations”; and
• In the long-term, contribution to enhanced preparedness for timely and effective response in cross-border outbreaks of infectious diseases and pandemics.