Boris Johnson, Giuseppe Conte, and Merkel Discuss COVID-19 Pandemic

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, has discussed the spread of the novel coronavirus in Europe with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. This was reported by the UK Prime Minister's office on Friday.

"The leaders have agreed on the necessity of mobilizing efforts, particularly at the G7 level. They discussed the need for joint actions to advance vaccine development and to minimize the economic impact resulting from the outbreak. In this regard, they expect the G7 leaders to hold a telephone call," the document released after Johnson's conversation with Merkel states.

In his conversation with Conte, Johnson emphasized that the coronavirus pandemic would be a "great test for the whole world" and also promised that the United Kingdom would provide support to Italy. The leaders of the UK and Italy also declared the need for "transparent and scientifically based measures to combat the coronavirus."