The US requires travelers to have a negative corona test, and Italy is also introducing a swab test requirement. The EU Commission is today discussing a coordinated approach.
In view of the violent surge of coronavirus in China, several countries have tightened requirements for Chinese citizens to enter the country. From January, the United States will require travelers from the People’s Republic to undergo a negative corona test, the US health authority CDC announced on Wednesday. Italy was the first European country to order mandatory tests for Chinese upon arrival. The European Commission will discuss a coordinated approach on Thursday.
In the USA, the new regulation will come into force on 5 January. From then on, air travellers’ who are two years of age or older and come from China must undergo a test no later than two days before departure from China, Hong Kong and Macao and submit a negative test result to the airlines. departure test”. said the US health authority CDC.
According to the Washington Department of Health, tests must be presented to airlines upon departure. PCR or antigen tests would be accepted, as would proof of recovery after a positive test ten days before the flight. The United States is particularly concerned that rapid transmission of the virus in China could lead to the emergence of new variants.
Italy decrees “Covid-19 antigenic smear obligation
Before the USA, Italy, Japan, India and Malaysia had already tightened the rules for entry from China. Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci on Wednesday ordered “mandatory Covid-19 antigenic swabs and related virus sequencing for all passengers arriving from China and traveling through Italy”. This measure is “essential to ensure the monitoring and identification of all variants of the virus to protect the Italian population”. France is also considering the possibility of imposing new measures.
The European Commission wants to discuss on Thursday “possible measures for a coordinated approach” by EU states. A Commission spokeswoman told AFP news agency that a meeting has been convened with representatives of health ministries from the 27 member states.
In early December, Beijing withdrew from its strict zero-Covid policy in a radical about-face. The corona virus has been spreading rapidly in China for weeks and the country is experiencing the highest increase in infections in the world. According to estimates, around one million people in China could die from a corona infection in the coming months. Hospitals are already overcrowded in many places.
There are no more concrete numbers available
The exact official crown numbers are no longer available in China. According to the authorities, it is now impossible to estimate the number of corona cases after the end of the testing obligation. China then stopped publishing the daily corona data on Sunday.
The Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported 5,231 new infections and three deaths on Wednesday, but the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher. On Monday, Beijing also announced the end of the coronavirus quarantine requirement for returnees from abroad, triggering a surge of Chinese willing to go to booking platforms.
(APA/AFP)