The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced on Thursday that the introduction of mandatory Covid-19 tests for arrivals from China is not justified.
The United States and several other countries have made Covid-19 testing mandatory for people entering from China.
ECDC has expressed the view that such tests are unnecessary in the European Union (EU).
After the Chinese government decided to lift most of the Covid-19 restrictions that helped contain infections but hurt the economy and provoked protests, the number of Covid-19 patients in China has increased sharply and hospitals are overcrowded.
China announced this week that it will lift its mandatory quarantine for arrivals, and many Chinese have started planning overseas trips.
ECDC considers that the COVID-19 outbreak in China will not affect the epidemiological situation in the EU, taking into account the level of immunity of the population in the EU and the European Economic Area and the fact that the variants of the virus currently in circulation in China have already appeared in the EU.
Therefore, ECDC considers that additional requirements and checks for arrivals from China are not justified.
The European Commission (EC) today convened a meeting of the EU’s Health Security Committee to discuss possible measures.
“It is very important that the EU acts in a united and coordinated manner on all possible public health measures in light of the situation in China,” a European Commission spokesperson said.
