The risk for people living or travelling in Europe to be infected with the COVID-19 has been levelled up by the European Center for Disease Prevention Control (ECDC), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Monday.

According to the daily ECDC risk assessment published on Monday, the risk associated with COVID-19 infection for people in the EU/EEA and UK is currently considered “moderate to high”. In its previous assessment published on Feb. 23, the assessment was low to moderate.

“In other words the virus continues to spread,” von der Leyen told a press conference in Brussels.

File photo taken on March 11, 2019 shows a man standing in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The Louvre Museum was shut down on March 1 due to the spreading coronavirus epidemic. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

The ECDC has made the assessment on a daily basis for more than a week, since the outbreak of the epidemic in northern Italy. So far more than 20 European countries have reported COVID-19 infection cases.

A fan of AC Milan stands outside the San Siro stadium after a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Genoa was postponed due to the recent coronavirus outbreak in Milan, Italy, March 1, 2020.(Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

Praising the efforts made by the European Commission to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, von der Leyen also announced the establishment of a COVID-19 response team that comprises high-profile commissioners.