The Swedish authorities will require travelers from China to present a negative Covid-19 test, the government announced today, following a recommendation made by the European Union (EU) to member states.
The measure, which starts on Saturday and will be in force for three weeks, covers all travelers over the age of 12, whether or not they are vaccinated, but not Swedish citizens or with a residence permit in this country or in another EU country. .
“The objective is to delay the eventual introduction of new variants of the virus and, thus, increase the possibilities of adopting measures and reduce the burden for the health sector,” the Swedish Minister of Social Affairs, Jakob Forssmed, explained at a press conference. held today.
With the adoption of this measure, the Swedish Government follows the recommendation of the Public Health Agency, which two days ago expressed its support for the introduction of a standard of this type, something that countries such as Italy, Spain and Belgium have already done. ., but no Nordic country had announced it so far.
The Integrated Response to the Political Crisis (IPCR) group decided, in a meeting held on Wednesday and attended by community institutions and other specialists in addition to the Member States, to recommend travelers to come from China.
Community authorities also advise all passengers on flights to and from China to wear a protective mask and have recommended member states to randomly test passengers upon arrival.
China is facing a wave of contamination unprecedented since the abrupt abandonment earlier this month of the so-called “Covid zero” policy.
However, the country announced the end of mandatory quarantines upon arrival in the territory from January 8 and the gradual resumption of Chinese travel abroad, which worries several countries.
Local experts estimate that a total of 600 million people will have been infected with Covid-19 in China in the last month, which is equivalent to 40% of the population of the Asian country, the most populous in the world.
The World Health Organization is assessing the risk of a new variant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 disease, subvariant XBB.1.5, which is spreading rapidly in several countries and may be more transmissible.
The subvariant of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 results from a recombination of two BA.2 sublines and has already been detected in 29 countries, including the United States, where it already represents about 40% of Covid-19 cases.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, this subvariant “may be more transmissible”, although it is not yet known if it will have “more serious” effects.
Covid-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, a type of virus detected three years ago in China and which has spread rapidly throughout the world, having assumed several variants and subvariants, some of which are more contagious. what others.
The disease is an international public health emergency since January 30, 2020 and a pandemic since March 11, 2020.
Source: TSF
