A number of EU countries had already tightened the rules for entry from China on their own.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Brussels In view of the massive corona wave in China, the majority of EU countries are supporting corona tests for travelers from the People’s Republic, according to the European Commission. “The overwhelming majority of countries are in favor of pre-departure testing,” said a spokesman for the Brussels authority on Tuesday after a meeting of representatives of national health ministries.
In principle, a “coordinated approach” was agreed. The discussion is to be continued this Wednesday at a meeting of the EU states at expert level.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides wrote on Twitter after Tuesday’s meeting, they have come closer to measures such as tests before departure and increased monitoring of the waste water. European unity remains the strongest instrument against Covid-19.
However, a number of EU countries had recently tightened the rules for entry from China on their own:
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
- In France, for example, PCR tests will be mandatory after arrival.
- Austria wants to examine the waste water from flights from China.
- And Spain has introduced the 3G rule – so travelers from China must be vaccinated, tested or recovered.
Germany wanted to continue to monitor the situation. The EU health authority ECDC gave the all-clear regarding the situation in China. This is unlikely to have any impact on the epidemiological situation in Europe, it said on Tuesday. The variants in China were already circulating in the EU and did not pose a challenge to the immune response of citizens in the EU.
According to the spokesman, the commission had prepared a statement for the meeting on Tuesday, which is now to be revised on the basis of the discussion. In addition to corona tests before departure, it therefore proposes measures such as monitoring aircraft waste water, increased sequencing of corona samples and wearing masks on flights from China.
More: New vaccines, medicines from the West – How China is preparing for the corona wave