France asks EU countries to test travelers from China for COVID
France today asked European Union states to test all travelers from China for Covid, after Paris decided to do so amid an outbreak that has engulfed Chinese territory. Among the 27 states in the European bloc, only Italy and Spain have imposed the obligation to present a negative test, and EU health officials failed last week to agree on a common approach, informs Rador.
Starting Sunday, France requires tourists arriving from China to present a negative COVID-19 test result less than 48 hours before departure and will also randomly test tourists upon arrival in the country. Meanwhile, European Union member states are to discuss on Wednesday a joint response to travelers coming from China, where the COVID-19 epidemic appears to have gotten out of control, said Sweden, which took over the half-yearly presidency of the EU today, reports Agerpres. The authorities in Stockholm have indicated that they have decided to activate the IPCR, a tool that allows the Council to react quickly politically in crisis situations. We remind that after keeping its borders almost closed for three years, instituting a strict regime of quarantine and testing, Beijing suddenly reversed its policy on COVID on December 7 to the option of living with the virus, and infections spread rapidly in recent weeks.
