Europe is experiencing delays in supplies of medicines and face masks because of coronavirus disruptions, according to EU and industry officials, compounding already acute shortages of drugs on the continent. Many countries around the world rely on China, the source of the outbreak, for drug ingredients in an age of global supply chains, and are grappling with how to avoid shortages of vital medicines. The European Union is assessing the delays in drug shipments from Asia, a senior official from the EU Commission said, as France warned it was over-dependent on China with about 40% of the country’s drug ingredients imported from there.
