– China is not the biggest threat

Almost all of the EU’s member states have asked for joint infection control rules for travelers from China, which is in the middle of a massive infection outbreak.

On Wednesday, a meeting was held in the crisis management council (IPCR). There, the member states agreed to introduce a number of joint corona measures.

In the press release, the EU points to the increasing infection in China after the country lifted its strict zero-covid measures.

From 8 January, the country will lift parts of the entry and exit bans, thus allowing Chinese tourists to visit destinations in Europe again.

– Unclear situation

Among the measures, it was recommended that passengers on flights from China should be tested before departure, as well as use a mask on board the plane.

Norway participated in Wednesday’s meeting.

– Norway wants to be closely coordinated with other countries in Europe, and supports a joint approach. We are happy that today’s meeting has ensured this, says Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol in a press release.

She points out that both the WHO and several European countries are concerned that there is little knowledge about the epidemiological situation in China and about which virus variants are circulating.

– Coordinating measures in Europe can provide a better overview in an unclear situation, says Kjerkol.

There are no direct flights from China to Norway today.

– The Norwegian authorities are now entering into dialogue with European colleagues to see how the measures can be implemented in practice.

WHO: Big numbers in the dark

The background for the crisis meeting is the strong spread of infection in China. After the country changed its corona policy and lifted the infection control measures, the virus has almost run wild.

The hospitals are overcrowded, and several funeral parlors have exceeded their capacity. This despite the fact that China has not reported more than a maximum of five corona deaths per day, reports Reuters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the development.

In a statement on Wednesday, they said China is underreporting the number of infections and the number of deaths.

– We continue to ask China for more reliable, fast and regular data on hospitalizations and deaths, says WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, according to Reuters.

However, the WHO has found no signs that a new virus variant has emerged during the outbreak.

According to the news agency, international health experts expect up to one million corona-related deaths in China this year.

– Not the biggest threat

FHI has previously told TV 2 that they believe there is no purpose in introducing restrictions aimed at Chinese tourists. Assistant director of health Espen Rostrup Nakstad agrees.

– I think that there are few tourists who contribute to infection in Norway now from China and other countries, he says.

He believes the crisis meeting from the EU is a result of the member states wanting a better overview.

– We want to know which varieties are spreading in Europe and in China, and we have to see the initiative in light of that.

Although there is a risk of a new virus variant arising during the giant outbreak in China, he believes the country does not pose the greatest threat.

– Don’t have an overview

– There is a risk when the infection spreads in a country with so many people at the speed we are seeing now. The risk is probably even greater in other countries, where many are vaccinated. Then the virus will try to circumvent the vaccine effect, and therefore that is probably the biggest problem.

Nakstad admits that it is a challenge that all countries have less of an overview of the infection now than one or two years ago.

– In China, but also in Europe and here at home, we do not sequence as many samples and therefore we are not able to follow closely enough.

He therefore emphasizes the need for regular random samples, which can detect any new variants.