On Thursday, Sweden, Belgium and Germany, among others, introduced a test requirement for travelers from China, and Austria finally followed suit. At first it was said that talks were still going on to implement the EU recommendations and to coordinate with neighboring countries. After that, the measures would also be decided in Austria.
With tests of the waste water from aircraft directly from China, an important measure has already been taken to “recognize and, if necessary, react” to new virus variants. Then it said: “Austria will introduce a pre-departure test obligation when entering China . Details are currently being prepared”, meaning that tests are mandatory before departure from China. Italy and France now also require tests, and Greece will do the same in the future. Thailand requires all travelers to have at least two vaccinations.
Several countries rely on “precautionary measure”
In Sweden, people arriving from China should have to show a negative test from Saturday and initially for a period of three weeks. It was purely a “precautionary measure,” said Swedish Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed at a joint press conference with the national health authority on Thursday. The obligation should not apply to Swedish citizens, it said. Adults and young people from the age of twelve must be able to show a test.
Belgium also follows the recommendation of mandatory testing for travelers from the People’s Republic, which the EU states agreed on Wednesday. As the Belga news agency reported, passengers on direct flights from China will have to present a negative coronavirus test before departure.
Not to Germany without a test
Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced this on Wednesday after the EU consultations. A corresponding royal decree could be published on Saturday. Belgium had previously decided to examine the wastewater from planes arriving from China for possible new virus variants. The analyzes are also scheduled to begin on Saturday. In the case of Germany, passengers from China will in future need at least one rapid antigen test when they start their journey, said German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach on Thursday in Berlin.
Only recommendations from the EU side
Health experts from the 27 EU countries were not able to agree on Wednesday evening that travelers from China should be tested, but they expressly recommend it. Among other things, wearing a medical or FFP2 mask on board aircraft from China is also recommended. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides welcomed on Thursday that there was a coordinated response from the EU states to the strong wave of coronavirus in China. She also asked the People’s Republic to make data on the current situation transparent.
Figures have not been published in China for some time, but there is talk of several hundred million infected people again. However, the People’s Republic rejects the accusation of lack of transparency. Beijing has always provided the international community with “all relevant information and data” on the extent of the CoV pandemic, showing an “open and transparent attitude,” a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday. China hopes that the World Health Organization (WHO) will strive for an “objective and fair attitude”.
Ambiguity in figures from China
WHO emergency expert Michael Ryan complained on Wednesday that the World Health Organization lacked “complete data” on the pandemic situation in China. The WHO assumes that the figures published by the authorities in Beijing on hospital admissions, intensive care and, above all, the number of deaths do not reflect the actual extent of the current wave of infections. China has reported just 23 deaths from the coronavirus nationwide since December. Previously, Beijing had changed the criteria for when a death is considered death from or with the virus, deviating from the international norm.
However, the health authority European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) does not currently expect the increase in the number of cases in China to affect the epidemiological situation in the EU. The variants circulating in China also exist here, so they do not pose a particular challenge, it was said recently. In addition, EU citizens have, on average, comparatively good immunity from infections and vaccinations.
According to ECDC, “record level reached”
In Germany, doctors recently called for an EU-wide test requirement for travelers from China. “We now need a Europe-wide uniform protection concept,” said the Federal Association of Physicians in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD) on Thursday.
“Every traveler from China should be tested by a quick test when entering the EU.” The rule must apply equally to business travelers and tourists. If the test result is positive, a PCR test must follow and the sample must be sequenced, and those infected should have to go into isolation.
According to ECDC, Germany continued, “the number of Covid-19 cases in mainland China reached a record high in December.” The incidence has decreased in the past three weeks, “but this may also be due to the fact that fewer tests were carried out and therefore fewer infections were found”. As before, “there is a lack of reliable data”.