Several countries around the world are imposing preventive measures on travellers from China as the number of Covid-19 cases in the country continues to grow. After almost three years of strict zero-Covid policies, China is starting to ease some of its restrictions, internally and internationally.
Although Italy pleaded the EU to introduce testing requirements bloc-wide, after a meeting last week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) called the measure unjustified, while Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides stressed that it is more important to sequence virus genomes rather than implement travel restrictions since, at the moment, the variants in China already circulate in the EU.
Last week, the French Health Ministry highlighted the importance of a coordinated approach, adding that additional measures are not a necessity since “at this stage, the number of Chinese travellers to Europe is limited and will remain so for several weeks, while China’s reopening measures are put in motion and take effect”. This position however changed on Sunday.
On 1 January, Paris started testing passengers coming from China at the Charles de Gaulle airport. Travellers now also need to provide a negative PCR test taken in the 48 hours before departure. “France will push for this methodology to be applied across the EU,” Health Minister François Braun said as he and Transport Minister Clement Beaune checked on the new procedures at the airport.
Besides needing to provide a pre-departure negative test, passengers from China will be randomly tested on arrival in France, although most of them use the Charles de Gaulle hub only for transit. On Sunday, out of 300 travellers, about 60 were tested at the airport and had their data collected. In case of a positive result, they will be contacted and asked to self-isolate for 7 days.
Braun described the requirement as “a more scientific control, which will allow us to follow the different variants extremely precisely”. Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides stressed last week that it is more important to sequence virus genomes rather than implement travel restrictions, however experts show this can be done more efficiently by testing the wastewater from airplanes, rather than testing each person.
Requiring negative tests in just one or several EU Member States is not very effective, as visitors could arrive in a different country and then go to France unchecked thanks to Schengen rules, which is why Braun is pushing for the requirement to be introduced across the entire bloc. Belgian Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said in a press conference on Monday that unless passenger locator forms are re-introduced, to allow for follow-up, testing cannot be effective.
Currently, Italy, Spain and France are the only EU countries requiring testing of people coming from China, while Belgium started testing airplane wastewater for possible new variants. An EU-level Integrated Political Crisis Response meeting will take place on Wednesday to reassess the necessary measures and propose coordinated approach.
