Corona news in the ticker – Lauterbach considers mandatory tests for travelers to China “not necessary yet”

News about Corona from December 30, 2022

France and Great Britain introduce corona tests for travelers to China

7.30 p.m.: The neighboring country France and Great Britain have now also introduced corona tests for travelers to China. This was announced by the respective ministers.

Such controls do not yet exist in Germany. Lauterbach said that with “variant monitoring” at airports, immediate action can be taken if worrying new variants of the corona virus appear. However, he currently sees no reason for routine tests upon entry, since all the variants that have been observed so far are already known.

Spain, Israel and South Korea are tightening regulations for travelers from China

6.45 p.m.: In view of the violent corona wave in China, more and more countries are tightening their regulations for travelers from the People’s Republic. EU member Spain announced controls at airports on Friday, and Israel and South Korea will also require air travelers from China to have a negative corona test in the future. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) announced that he would prepare a system for “variant monitoring” at airports together with other European countries. Meanwhile, Beijing defended its information policy.

In a radical U-turn, China backed away from its strict zero-Covid policy at the beginning of December. Since then, the corona restrictions have been significantly relaxed. The country is currently experiencing the highest increase in infections in the world, and hospitals are overcrowded in many places. Countries such as Italy, the USA, Japan, India and Malaysia have already tightened their entry requirements for travelers from China this week.

On Friday, Spain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias also announced controls at airports for travelers from the People’s Republic. In the future, you will have to present a negative corona test or proof of full vaccination protection.

Israel’s Health Minister Arje Deri instructed airlines to allow foreigners to present negative corona tests on flights from China to Israel. South Korea also introduced a corona test requirement for travelers from the People’s Republic.

Lauterbach said that with “variant monitoring” at airports, immediate action can be taken if worrying new variants of the corona virus appear. However, he currently sees no reason for routine tests upon entry, since all the variants that have been observed so far are already known.

The EU health authority ECDC also considers such measures to be unnecessary for the EU as a whole. On Thursday she pointed out that there was “a relatively high level of immunization and vaccination” in the EU countries. The ECDC also argued, similar to Lauterbach, that “the variants circulating in China are already widespread in the EU”.

The World Health Organization (WHO), on the other hand, showed understanding for the new travel restrictions. “In the absence of full information from China, it is understandable that countries are taking action that they believe will protect their populations,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday. On Wednesday, a high-ranking representative of the US health authorities complained that China was not transmitting enough corona data.

Beijing rejected the criticism on Friday. Since the pandemic began, China has “shared relevant information and data with the international community, including the WHO, in an open and transparent manner,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. Health experts from different countries also agree that new entry restrictions for travelers from China are not necessary.

Exact official corona numbers are no longer available in China. According to the authorities, it is now impossible to estimate the number of corona cases after the end of the test obligation. China had therefore stopped publishing daily corona data on Sunday. On Friday, the authorities reported around 5,500 new infections and one death. However, it is assumed that the number of unreported cases is much higher.

The data service provider Airfinity currently assumes 9,000 corona deaths and 1.8 million infections per day in China. By the end of April 2023, the number of corona deaths in the country could rise to 1.7 million.

Lauterbach considers compulsory testing for China travelers to be “not necessary yet”

1:47 p.m.: Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach currently considers mandatory tests when entering the country from China to be “not yet necessary”. As a central measure, however, close-meshed “variant monitoring” is being prepared at European airports, said the SPD politician on Friday in Berlin. “In addition, I think it is very important that Europe reacts in a coordinated manner here,” said Lauterbach.

Lauterbach said that at this point in time, a threat from new variants is not to be expected. So far, already known variants have appeared. In the afternoon he would “discuss the matter very intensively” with the French Minister of Health.

“We need very precise “variant monitoring” because we cannot reliably call up this variant monitoring from China,” said the minister. “Here, the targeted review of individual flight sequences, for example, could also play a role, which is being prepared.” But there is no reason for “routine antigen testing”.

Bavaria wants the federal government to vote on restrictions for travelers to China

1:10 p.m.: Because of the corona wave in China, Bavaria is demanding that the federal government coordinate with the federal states in a timely manner about possible requirements for travelers from China. “The very high number of new infections with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus reported from China, in conjunction with the lifting of isolation measures and travel restrictions, harbors the risk that new virus variants will emerge and spread uncontrollably,” said Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU). Friday in Munich. Germany should also offer China support with vaccines.

An objective assessment of the actual infection situation is made more difficult by a lack of transparent data, said Holetschek. He pointed out that the USA and Italy, among others, have already reacted and have made restrictive regulations for entry from China. In a letter, he asked Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) to put this topic on the agenda at the meeting of the federal-state group for hospital reform on January 5.

Possible conditions can only be imposed by federal travel restrictions. These currently apply to travelers from so-called virus variant areas. However, no country is currently on such a list.

The EU now wants “uniform travel regulations” for China passengers

10:49 am: The EU is alarmed by the dramatic spread of the corona virus in China. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou sent a letter to the health ministers of the 27 member states on Thursday, reports the German Press Agency.

Kyriakides wrote that in the next few days there will be detailed “uniform travel regulations” for EU travelers who want to travel to China and for those who want to travel to the European Union from China, the Athens News Agency reported on Friday morning. The provisions should also apply to airline and airport staff.

Kyriakides also called on states to review and, if necessary, ramp up their national surveillance measures for the virus. “If a new variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus appears – be it in China or in the EU – we have to recognize it early on in order to be able to react quickly,” she wrote in a letter to the countries that the Deutsche Presse- agency is available. A crisis meeting on how to proceed is expected to take place next week.

In addition to Italy, Spain also wants to require travelers from the People’s Republic to have a corona test or a full vaccination upon entry. Health Minister Carolina Darias announced this at a press conference on Friday morning. In addition, Spain will endeavor to define a common line for all EU countries on this issue as quickly as possible. Several countries such as Italy and the USA have already introduced or announced entry restrictions.

Woidke urges a nationwide solution for corona-Rules

Friday, December 30, 2022 at 04:30: Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke is calling for a nationwide regulation for a possible end to the corona protection measures. “If what Mr. Drosten and many other experts say is true, it makes sense that we can soon do without all measures,” said the SPD politician at the German Press Agency in Potsdam. “But that should be coordinated nationwide.” Woidke pointed out that the Brandenburg regulation applies until January 11th. The federal corona rules are stipulated by law until April 7th, but can be overturned earlier.

In an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”, the virologist Christian Drosten said, among other things, that in his opinion the pandemic was over and was becoming an endemic. The immunity against Sars-CoV-2 will be so broad and resilient after the winter that the virus can hardly get through in the summer. Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) then called for “the last corona protective measures” to be ended. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) rejected this with reference to full clinics, overworked staff and excess mortality, but left open whether the rules would be adhered to until April. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) referred to the legal situation and thus supported Lauterbach.

The Brandenburg head of government warned of a competition to lift corona protection. “I don’t think much of the fact that individual federal states make individual regulations and enter into an outbidding competition,” said Woidke. “It is precisely such solo attempts that have repeatedly caused great uncertainty among the population.”

In Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt, masks are no longer compulsory on local buses and trains. In Schleswig-Holstein it expires by the end of the year. The Brandenburg cabinet had extended the FFP2 mask requirement on public buses and trains in local transport before Christmas until January 11th. The mask requirement also applies to visitors to communal accommodation for refugees and homeless people in closed rooms. The corona isolation obligation also still applies in Brandenburg. The federal government provides the masks for passengers in long-distance public transport and visitors to hospitals and nursing homes as well as doctor’s offices until April.

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