The governments of France and the United Kingdom announced this Saturday the imposition of Covid-19 tests on passengers from mainland China, starting on January 5, adding to Italy, Spain, Japan, Israel or the United States.
The British Ministry of Health, in a statement released, confirmed that it will require passengers from China, from January 5, to enter England, a negative result to the Covid-19 test, carried out before the departure of the asian country. . .
In the document, the British government states that, for now, the requirement only applies to travelers arriving from China on direct flights to English airports. Although at the moment there are no direct services from that country to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, the British executive is working with governments to extend the measures to the entire United Kingdom.
Also this morning, the French government published a decree that specifies the dates of entry into force of the measures announced on Friday night by the executive, for travelers from China with departures from January 5.
These measures, in force until January 31, also provide for random PCR tests on arrival in France from Sunday and the mandatory use of a mask for passengers over the age of six on board flights departing from China.
According to the decree, as of January 5, travelers over the age of 11 coming from China by air must present a negative test upon departure, less than 48 hours before boarding.
“These travelers still have to commit to a random screening test upon arrival in the national territory and isolate themselves in the event of a positive result,” the text reads.
The introduction of stricter controls on the Asian giant’s flights comes after Beijing confirmed the reopening of the borders on January 8, for the first time since March 2020.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking on Saturday, assured that “the light of hope is before” the Chinese, as his country faces an explosion of Covid-19 cases after the lifting of sanitary restrictions.
“Epidemic prevention and control have entered a new phase. We are still in a difficult moment”, but “the light of hope is before us”, said Xi Jinping, in a New Year speech, broadcast on the country’s televisions.
In Portugal, the Minister of Health announced on Friday, to the Lusa news agency, that he was preparing the adoption, at airports, of control measures for passengers coming from China, which will be implemented if and when necessary, rejecting the “alarmism” in in view of the recent increase in infections in the Chinese population.
According to the minister, the Government is following the evolution of the covid-19 in China, which “is cause for concern”, maintaining a “close dialogue with other European countries, specifically within the framework of the European Union and with international organizations of Health”. “.
On the same day, the European Commission acknowledged the “alarming” increase in covid-19 cases in China and recommended surveillance measures to member states.
In a letter sent to the Ministers of Health of the 27 countries of the European Union and quoted by Europa Press, the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, affirms that Brussels is “attentive to developments”, assumes that we must be prepared, although, for the moment, there are no common measures.
The General Directorate of Health, in its weekly report on respiratory viruses, also acknowledges that the increase in the number of daily cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in China in recent days is a situation that “must be closely monitored in the coming weeks”.
Source: TSF
