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The map showing the [[:Archivo:Europa_Casos-de-COVID--19-en-la-Union-Europea_2020_mapa_17792_spa.jpg|''COVID-19 cases in the European Union'']] reveals how the pandemic spread throughout the territory from January to June 2020. The growth of the disease was explosive during the month of March and the worst figures were registered in April. This may possibly be related to the fact that the European Union had underestimated the risk of a new virus emerging in China, so by the time the pandemic was declared, European health and governance systems were overwhelmed. However, the decision to impose a policy of strict lockdowns in the vast majority of Member States gradually succeeded in reducing the number of infections afterwards. An analysis of the impact by State shows that the severity of the pandemic was uneven: the eastern States were less affected (Slovakia and Hungary recorded the lowest figures); western States that reacted quickly were able to limit the impact (e.g. Portugal, Germany and France); other western States recorded the highest figures (Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Sweden had the highest incidence rates).
The map showing the [[:Archivo:Europa_Fallecidos-por-COVID--19-en-la-Union-Europea_2020_mapa_17793_spa.jpg|''Deaths from COVID-19 in the European Union'' ]] reveals a general trend that correlates with the patterns for COVID-19 cases. However, the number of deaths lags behind the number of cases by a couple of weeks. The only significant variation is to be found in Italy, which was the first State to register a community transmission. They reacted quickly and, therefore, managed to limit the transmission figures somewhat. Nevertheless, Italy recorded very high death rates. This is because there were few means to combat the disease during the first weeks of the pandemic, which meant the number of seriously ill and deceased was particularly high at this early stage (at one point, the mortality rate in Italy lied over 50 per 100,000 inhabitants).
The last map shows the number of [[:Archivo:Europa_Personal-sanitario-en-la-Union-Europea_2018_mapa_17875_spa.jpg|''Healthcare workers in the European Union'']]. In general, Europe is globally renowned for having solid and well-equipped healthcare systems, which translate to the continent’s high level of well-being. However, the availability of doctors and nurses is uneven: higher in the northern States (Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Estonia and Lithuania), and lower in the southern and eastern States (for this indicator, Spain and Italy have similar figures to Bulgaria, possibly as a result of the cuts on their health budgets in the wake of the double recession from 2008-2013).
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