The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabella Diaz Ayusoannounced this Thursday that “given the alarming information coming from China” Madrid has activated the anti-Covid protocol in nursing homes and will strengthen the Isabel Zendal Hospital.
The president of Madrid affirms this in a tweet, where she also asks the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez“to establish controls on flights from China” to stop the spread of the virus.
Just this Thursday the Minister of Health of the Community of Madrid, Enrique Ruiz Escuderowrote to the Minister of Health, Carolina would you givea letter through which she asked him to step up the check in and Airport Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajasas well as other control measures.
“Following the significant changes they have introduced in transmission control, and taking into account the Opening of the Chinese border and the great mobility expected under the Chinese New Yearwe believe it is necessary to evaluate the possible impact on EU countries both at national level and within the context of the Health Security Committee”, began the minister.
In this sense, and despite the “high” vaccination coverage in the Spanish population, he understands that “we must evaluate possible public health measureswhich, before deciding to limit freedom of movement, involve an extraordinary check in the country of origin of the departures of people who have tested negative for diagnostic tests for active infection”.
[La UE no impondrá restricciones por la ola de Covid en China: “No es una nueva variante”]
In addition, he asked to “further intensify” checks at Spanish airports, in particular the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, a “antivirus port in the country in all previous waves”.
He believes that the appropriate forum to agree on preparedness and response activities for this pandemic is the Health Security Committee, before which he has asked him to “receive timely information on the agreements reached in the meetings convened by this Committee”.
Inter-territorial council
He also asked the “urgent and extraordinary” call. of the Plenary of the SNS Interterritorial Council in the next few hours to address the current situation and the possible measures to be taken. “As you well know, the experience of these years has taught us that with Covid-19 every minute counts“, he tells her.
Given the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in China, the Ministry of Health recommends Spanish travelers whose destination or origin is China to full vaccination schedule and that they maintain the precautionary measures. At the moment it does not announce the request for a negative test, as it has already done Italynor any other additional measures at airports.
[EEUU, Italia y Japón piden test Covid a los turistas chinos: crece la alarma tras la escalada de casos]
This was reported in the framework of the meeting of the European Union’s Committee for Health Security (CSS), held this Thursday morning to analyze the situation of the Asian giant. The Twenty-seven insisted on the importance of continuing active surveillance, including virus sequencing as a key tool.
Spain also stressed at this meeting the importance of “continuing the path of European coordination in health policies”. Furthermore, he called on people who have not completed their vaccination regimen to do so, and insisted on the importance of vaccinating with the second booster dose with those adapted to the variants, especially for the most vulnerable people.
“Active surveillance” of the EU
EU member states agreed to maintain “active surveillance” in the face of the apparent explosion of coronavirus infections in China, in a meeting convened as an emergency on Thursday and from which emerged a commitment to continue contacts to screen possible joint initiatives, such as those that Italy is already publicly asking for.
The European Commission has convened the Health Safety Committee, which brings together representatives of the 27 Ministries of Health, to consider a “coordinated” decision, after the Italian Government announced it will require a negative test for the coronavirus from all travelers from from China .
“The coordination of national responses to serious cross-border threats to health is essential”, underlined the Community Executive at the end of the meeting. “We must act together and we will continue our discussions,” the Commission explained on social networks.
[EEUU, Italia y Japón piden test Covid a los turistas chinos: crece la alarma tras la escalada de casos]
Los States memberFor their part, “they insisted on the importance of continuing with active surveillance”, according to diplomatic sources who also highlighted the sequence of the virus as a “fundamental tool”. The Italian government clarified this Thursday that for now it has not detected any new variants from the Asian giant.
Spain underlined during the meeting “the importance of continuing the path of European coordination in health policies”, even if for now there is no express commitment at the level of the Twenty-seven to adopt short-term measures or to meet again.
Even the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health have insisted in the last few hours on their recommendations that travelers traveling to or from China have the complete vaccination program. Likewise, from Health they recalled the importance of the second dose of memory, especially for the most vulnerable people.
