by Alessandra Muglia
As the EU falters, Madrid follows Rome. India is also extending restrictions to those arriving from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Tokyo and Seoul restrict flights from Beijing
Beijing is responding to restrictions imposed by some countries, including Italy, on travelers from China. He calls them “discriminatory” and “unfounded,” “another opportunity to defame us.” The reference relates to the decision to conduct anti-Covid tests at the airport for travelers arriving from China. Measures being taken to address concerns about the spread of the virus in an unimmunized population – vaccinated with ineffective sera and facing almost no prior exposure due to the zero Covid policy implemented for three years and suspended a few days ago been exposed to the virus – could give rise to new variants. Worrying is the fact that Beijing does not share sufficient and credible information on the course of the pandemic: 5.5 thousand new cases and one death were reported yesterday. But with mass testing ending and the criteria for what counts as a Covid death narrowing, those numbers are no longer believed to reflect reality. Some experts estimate one million new infections per day and 9,000 deaths per day.
The latest Covid news today
In the US from January 5th
The United States is preparing to require those disembarking from China to present a negative test taken no more than 48 hours before departure. However, the measure announced last Wednesday will not come into force until January 5th. In the north-east of the country, Omicron’s subvariant, XBB.1.5, has quickly taken hold and is likely responsible for the spike in infections over the past week.
Pioneer Italy
The Italian government was the first in the West to reinstate the obligation to have the quick anti-Covid swab for all passengers arriving from China last Wednesday. Milan’s Malpensa Airport had already taken care of the optional smear on December 26 for them. Since yesterday, the tests have also been mandatory for passengers arriving in Italy after a stopover. Those who test positive are sent to quarantine. But Rome’s cautious line is not shared at EU level for the time being. Health Minister Orazio Schillaci had sent a letter to the Commission “to call for unity on measures” at European level, a request that was not accepted for the time being.
The EU needs time
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control considers a mandatory Europe-wide screening of Covid symptoms for travelers from China to be “unjustified” for the time being because the immunity and vaccination levels in European countries are “relatively high”. “The variants circulating in China are the ones already circulating in the EU” and therefore controls at EU level are not currently considered necessary.
The Elysée has announced that France intends “to act in a coordinated manner with the other Member States of the Union, as it has always done since the health crisis began” and will therefore not introduce any restrictions on its own.
For the federal government, the current wave of Covid infections in China is not a sufficient reason to impose new entry measures because there is no evidence of a new variant of the virus that is more dangerous than the one that is spreading in Germany.
Spain follows Italy
Rome is instead following Madrid, which will ask travelers from China for a negative Covid-19 test or full vaccination card. When announcing the measure, Health Minister Carolina Darias emphasized that there is “common concern at the international and national levels” about the development of infections in China and the difficulty of making the situation based on the “correct” assessment of the scarce information available: There is the concern that new variants that are not controlled or that differ from the existing ones could spread in the country, he said.
In Japan, buffer and flight restrictions
In Asia, several countries have taken action. Today Japan has started requiring all passengers arriving from China to take anti-Covid tests. Positives will be quarantined for up to seven days at designated facilities and their samples will be sequenced. The Tokyo government is already facing a record spike in cases and deaths (over 400 per day) in the country. Direct flights between China and Japan will be limited to four major Japanese airports for now, government officials said. Flights from Hong Kong and Macau are allowed to land at three other airports provided there are no passengers who have been to mainland China in the seven days prior to the flight. Hong Kong authorities called the restrictions “unreasonable” and urged Japanese authorities to lift them.
India is expanding its measures beyond China
The Indian government has announced that from Sunday travelers from China (including Hong Kong), Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will have to present a negative anti-Covid test to enter the country.
South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand
South Korea announced today that travelers from China will be required to present the negative swab test from January 5th. From Monday, they will also have to undergo a molecular test within a day of arriving in South Korea. Seoul will also limit the number of flights out of China and short-term visas for Chinese citizens, except for those arriving for diplomatic, essential business or humanitarian reasons, until at least the end of February.
December 30, 2022 (change December 30, 2022 | 11:33 am)
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