Faced with the worrying outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic in China, France and the rest of the world are tightening the nut. In France, from January 1, travelers from China are subject to controls. BFMTV takes stock of all the measures and reasons for this special treatment for Chinese passengers.
• What rules already exist?
Since Sunday, tourists from China can randomly undergo PCR tests when entering France. Objective: detect possible new variants.
Most passengers from China only go through the hub of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. For those whose final destination is France, their identity is registered by the agents of the control center present at the airport. If the test comes back positive, travelers are called back and must self-isolate for seven days, as they consented to when they left.
To reduce risk, Chinese passengers (except those under the age of six) are also required to wear a surgical mask.
• What other measures will be implemented soon?
As of Thursday, they must also submit a negative test (PCR or antigen) less than 48 hours before their flight departure.
All these measures are planned at least until January 31. “In total, 3,000 passengers a week arrive from China, some of whom are only in transit,” Transport Minister Clément Beaune said in an interview with BFMTV at Roissy airport on Sunday.
• How are other countries handling the situation?
In Europe, Italy was the first country to decide on Wednesday to impose mandatory tests on all travelers from China. The country was soon followed by Spain. The member states of the European Union are due to discuss a common response this week.
Moments after the announcement by the French government, the United Kingdom, for its part, took similar measures (negative test before boarding China and the possibility of testing a sample of passengers upon arrival).
Around the world, the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea and India have also changed their rules for welcoming Chinese travelers. These measures are “understandable” in view of the lack of information provided by Beijing, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Thursday.
Morocco has also adopted another stricter measure: it purely and simply prohibits, as of Tuesday, the entry into its territory of all travelers from China, “regardless of their nationality.”
• Why is the situation in China worrying the authorities?
France, like the United Kingdom, Italy or the United States, has implemented these protocols in response to the explosion of cases of coronavirus infections in China, which ended its restrictive measures at the beginning of December. Although the most sequenced variant in China is BF.7 (one of Omicron’s sublines present in France for several weeks), health experts fear the appearance of new variants.
Since the end of the draconian “zero Covid” policy, Chinese hospitals have been overwhelmed by a surge of patients, most of them elderly and vulnerable because they have received little or no vaccinations.
The country reported some 5,100 new positive cases on Sunday, but only one additional Covid-related death. These largely underestimated numbers appear to be totally out of step with the reality on the ground.
Source: BFM TV
