Belgium had already announced the measure and, starting next week, Austria would also like to examine the waste water of all flights from China.
While some EU countries are testing tourists from the Asian country at the entrance because of the corona wave in China, Austria has so far been reluctant. Starting next week, however, wastewater from all flights from China will also be screened for new variants of the virus in that country. The information was released by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
“Logistic Nightmare”
Belgium had already announced this measure. The samples would be taken directly from the aircraft’s waste water tanks, so that new variants of the virus could be discovered particularly well, he said. In addition, the Hallstatt wastewater treatment plant will be included in the federal wastewater monitoring system. The Austrian Food Safety and Health Agency (AGES) is responsible for sequencing the wastewater samples from aircraft arriving from China.
According to Health Minister Johannes Rauch, this should be used to identify new variants of the virus. Testing everyone arriving from China would be “a logistical nightmare”, would also require isolation rules and fundamental rights would be questioned, according to the ministry.
Unplanned corona tests for all travelers
“Unlike China, which until now has been characterized by a Covid-zero strategy, in Austria we are registering broad immunity against the omicron variant, which also dominates in China,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
Mandatory coronavirus tests for travelers from China, as introduced by EU countries Italy, France and Spain, are not yet planned.
Nav-Account red Time03.01.2023, 13:43| Act: 01.03.2023, 1:43 pm