The EU Council, at a regular meeting held at the very beginning of 2023, “urges” member countries of the bloc to require testing for COVID-19 from tourists arriving from China, the largest traveler population. The new restrictive measure is to be introduced from January 8.
Old European Europe lowers the curtain to “fence off” Chinese travelers by agreeing on a common border approach. “Member States are urged to introduce a requirement for all passengers departing China to Member States to have a negative test for COVID-19 taken no more than 48 hours before departure from China,” the Swedish Presidency said in a statement. in the Council of the European Union.
In addition, EU Member States are also urged to remind all passengers on flights to/from China to wear face masks, respirators and provide health and personal hygiene advice.
“IPCR when with the support of ECDC and EEAS, and taking into account the assessment of WHO, will continue to monitor the epidemiological situation in the EU and developments in China, including the level of data transmitted, in order to ensure that the EU coordinates any measures it deems necessary,” the statement also noted.
In addition, European bloc members are urged to require all passengers departing from China to present a negative COVID-19 test obtained no more than 48 hours before departure from China. Arriving from China to EU Member States. there will also be random testing.
The main reason for the introduction of new sanitary practices in relation to a densely populated country is a sharp increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 infection, which, according to experts, could carry over to Europe. In addition, Western authorities have criticized China for allegedly false data on the current epidemiological situation. Recently, the World Health Organization has accused the Chinese authorities of underestimating the current situation with COVID-19. In addition, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a media briefing, urged the Chinese authorities to provide faster and more regular data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more complete real-time virus sequencing. As a reminder, from January 8, China will lower the level of control of COVID-19, open international borders, and orderly resume outbound tourism.
The current epidemiological situation in China has caused controversy among European countries on whether to introduce additional measures to enter the country upon arrival from China or not. For example, authorities in Greece, Switzerland and Germany recently announced that they were not planning to impose travel restrictions on arrivals from China, despite the increased number of infections the latter is facing. But countries such as Spain, France, Italy have decided to introduce mandatory COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China. For details, read the article “Many countries did not want to let Chinese tourists in: threats and accusations of racism began.”
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