The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced on Thursday that the introduction of mandatory coronavirus testing for citizens entering the European Union from China is not justified, despite the growing number of cases registered in China.
In recent days, the United States and several other countries, including Italy, the first in Europe, have introduced mandatory coronavirus testing for passengers arriving from China. However, according to the EU health authority, it is not necessary to introduce a similar move at the EU level.
Hospitals across China have been overwhelmed by an explosion in coronavirus infections after Beijing lifted a strict curfew that kept the number of coronavirus infections at a low level but severely hampered the economy and sparked widespread protests in China’s major cities.
According to the ECDC, the increase in the number of cases in China does not currently affect the epidemiological situation in the European Union.
In view of the high vaccination rate of the population of the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA), as well as previously and newly developed coronavirus variants in China.
Accordingly, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention “considers that mandatory testing and travel requirements for passengers from China are not justified.”
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention added that the number of possible imported infections is very low compared to the daily number of cases in the European Union, and European health facilities are currently able to deal with the outbreak.
The European Commission convened a meeting of the European Union’s Health and Safety Committee on Thursday to discuss possible responses.
“It is important that the European Union takes all possible public health measures in a unified and coordinated manner in light of the situation in China,” said a spokesperson for the European Commission, adding that the body “continues to promote the aforementioned dialogue between member states.”
(MTI)
