After an emergency meeting of the EU Health Committee led by the Commission, there was no agreement on a uniform approach. The BF.7 Omicron variant, which is widespread in China, is already active in Europe and the threat has not increased significantly, the EU Commission said: “However, we remain vigilant and will be ready to pull the emergency brake if necessary is.”
Talks are set to continue at a later date. The session ended with a call for a unified position. “We must act together and will continue our discussions,” said the EU Commission. However, the EU states still disagree on how to act jointly.
Meloni calls for Europe-wide testing
Italy pushed ahead in Europe with mandatory tests for travelers from China on Wednesday. Travelers infected with the corona virus have to go into isolation here. Rome acted quickly after 97 out of two planes carrying 210 tested passengers from China that landed in Milan on December 26 had a positive CoV test.
Accordingly, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vehemently called for a Europe-wide testing obligation on Thursday. The requirement for CoV tests on passengers from China is “only effective if it is made at European level”. Many could enter Italy with connecting flights via other European countries. In fact, the visa-free Schengen area requires a coordinated approach.
“No reason to reintroduce border controls”
Countries like Germany, Portugal and France see it differently. According to the German Ministry of Health, the current wave of CoV in China is not a reason for new entry restrictions. So far there is no evidence of a new variant of the virus that is more dangerous than the one currently spreading in Germany. But that could change, they said. France also does not consider border controls to be necessary because of developments in China.
“From a scientific point of view, there is no reason for the reintroduction of border controls,” said the head of the committee for health risk assessment, Brigitte Autran, the broadcaster Radio Classique. However, that could change any day.
Austria is monitoring the situation
According to information from the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, Austria is also currently not planning any entry restrictions, but is monitoring the situation and exchanging information with EU authorities. The SÖ called on the government on Thursday to “urgently” examine the introduction of a test requirement for travelers from China at airports.
The opponents of mandatory tests received support from the EU health authority (ECDC) on Thursday. This described the introduction of mandatory examinations of travelers from China as “unjustified”. Mandatory tests are not necessary for the EU as a whole. The EU states therefore have a “relatively high level of immunization and vaccination”. The ECDC also argued that “the variants circulating in China are already widespread in the EU”.
In the USA, on the other hand, the health authority CDC announced on Wednesday that airlines would have to submit tests or a current proof of recovery from January 5th. There is concern that the rapid transmission of the virus in China could create new variants. India announced on Thursday that the PCR test will be compulsory for entries from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand next Sunday.
Out of quarantine
The Beijing Health Commission announced on Monday that the danger level of the corona virus would be lowered from January 8th. This ends the mandatory hotel quarantine for travelers after their arrival. A negative test is only necessary before departure. Most recently, travelers were isolated in a hotel room for at least five days and closely monitored. At times, an entry quarantine of 21 days was even required.
The immigration authorities also announced that they would gradually resume issuing passports for “tourism” and “visiting friends abroad” and relax visa regulations. Nevertheless, Beijing will “continue to adjust its visa policy scientifically and dynamically in accordance with the epidemic situation,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
No more daily CoV data
In early December, Beijing backed away from its strict zero-Covid policy in a radical about-face. Since then, the corona virus has been spreading rapidly in the country of 1.4 billion inhabitants, and the country is experiencing the highest increase in infections worldwide. According to officially unconfirmed internal estimates, around 20 percent of the population was infected with the corona virus in the first three weeks of December alone.
According to estimates, around a million people could die in China in the coming months as a result of a coronavirus infection. However, there are no longer any official CoV numbers in China. According to the authorities, after the end of the test obligation, it is now impossible to estimate the number of coronavirus cases. The publication of daily CoV data has been discontinued.
