Second in Europe after Italy, Spain also announced on Friday that people arriving from China must undergo a coronavirus test or have a full series of vaccinations before entering. The exact date of entry into force of the measure will be decided later.
The United States has made mandatory coronavirus testing for all travelers arriving from China. The measure takes effect on January 5 and applies to all travelers over the age of 2 coming from China, and it also applies to US citizens. Travelers must have a negative coronavirus test no older than two days and present it before boarding the plane.
South Korea announced on Friday that from Monday, people arriving from China will only be able to enter the country with a negative test no older than 24 hours, and from Thursday, the mandatory negative coronavirus test will apply to all arrivals to South Korea.
Japan has also announced that it will introduce similar restrictions, restricting the traffic of planes arriving from China at Japan's four largest airports.
The European Union is also considering further measures. On Thursday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) called the introduction of mandatory coronavirus testing for citizens entering the European Union (EU) from China unjustified. On Thursday, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides called on the member states to review the national surveillance measures and, if necessary, increase them.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach stated in Berlin on Friday that there is no need for mandatory testing, but preparations are being made to monitor the various variants at European airports. The minister called for unified European measures.
The Israeli Ministry of Health also announced on Friday that they will make the Covid test mandatory for foreign passengers arriving from China. Foreign airlines are required to take only foreign passengers with a negative coronavirus test on their flights from China.
Malaysia said it would conduct temperature checks at international airports.
State media in Aquinas criticized the restrictive measures introduced by several governments. The English-language daily Global Times called them "unfounded" and "disadvantagingly discriminatory" on Thursday evening, noting that "their real aim is to sabotage China's three-year anti-Covid efforts" and "attack the country's system".
From January 8, China will end the mandatory quarantine for incoming travelers, but the coronavirus test no older than two days is still mandatory.
Tedrosz Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the WHO, called the restrictive measures taken by individual countries "understandable" on Thursday evening, given that there is no extensive information coming from China.
According to the Director General, more information is needed to accurately assess the spread of the infection in China before the organization takes a position on the issue of tests ordered upon entry.
In China, the number of infected people has been increasing rapidly since the previous restrictions were lifted on December 7. In the first three weeks of December alone, according to unconfirmed domestic estimates, 248 million people were infected with the coronavirus.
Source: mh.hu
Photo: MTI / Tamás Kovács
