Covid Surge: Spain, UK, others announce new testing rules for Chinese nationals
Since the current Covid surge in China and the reports of high volumes of patients in hospitals, Spain, the UK, France, South Korea, and Israel have announced new testing rules for Chinese nationals arriving in these countries.
Spain is the second EU country to announce Covid testing on visitors from China. More countries continue to follow these decisions adding that arrivals can skip the tests if fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, Beijing has announced that it will fully reopen its borders next week for the first time since March 2020.
“At the national level, we will implement controls at airports and require travellers from China to present a negative Covid test or be fully vaccinated,” said Spanish health minister Carolina Darias.
On Thursday, the EU’s disease prevention agency said such measures were not justified in Europe because of the levels of immunity and the fact that variants spreading in China were already present on the continent.
The World Health Organization, however, has said it was understandable that some countries had imposed restrictions and urged Beijing to be more forthcoming about its Covid numbers. China’s foreign ministry said earlier this week that its epidemic situation overall was predictable and under control.
But the toll of daily cases and deaths in China is unknown as officials have stopped requiring cases to be reported and changed classifications for Covid deaths. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that travellers from China would need to have a negative PCR or antigen test before boarding flights to South Korea.
They will also need to undergo a PCR test on the first day of their arrival in South Korea. Meanwhile, Israel has ordered foreign airlines not to allow people to travel from China unless they have tested negative – and asked its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel there.
Not all countries have announced controls. Germany has joined Australia and Portugal, saying there will be no new rules. However, Germany’s health minister has said the government seeks a coordinated system to monitor variants across European airports.
China’s decision this week to reopen its borders on 8 January marks the last stage of the country’s controversial zero-Covid policy, which President Xi Jinping had endorsed. As the rest of the world transitioned to living with the virus, Beijing maintained an eradication policy involving mass testing and stringent lockdown.
In November, the frustration spilled onto the streets in rare protests against Mr. Xi and his government. A week later, Beijing rolled back the restrictions.
Reuters/S.O
