Covid-19: Italy imposes tests on travelers coming from China

A first in Europe.

Italy is imposing compulsory tests from this Wednesday, December 28 for all travelers coming from China, faced with an explosion of Covid cases, the Italian Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday, while the Lombardy region (north) has already introduced such a measure.

"This measure is essential to guarantee the surveillance and individualization of possible variants of the virus in order to protect the Italian population", justified the Minister Orazio Schillaci in a press release.

“This provision comes into force immediately and until January 30, 2023, unless the epidemiological situation is reassessed”, it is specified.

"Surveillance and prevention, through sequencing, are fundamental to identify in due time any new variants that may cause concern and which at this stage are not circulating in Italy," the ministry added.

Tests also restored in Japan from Friday

The Lombardy region, where Milan's Malpensa international airport is located, has already decided to "submit to a molecular test (…) all travelers and crew members coming from China", said Wednesday on its website dedicated to travelers the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Lombardy was the first to be confined in Europe in 2020 to stem the Covid pandemic.

Economic heart of the peninsula with Milan as its capital, it is still traumatized by the shock of the first deadly wave of the pandemic.

In Italy, health is an area of ​​competence for each region, which explains why each of them can take different measures.

Japan will also restore from Friday the mandatory PCR tests for travelers from mainland China.

The island of Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, also announced that it would carry out virus checks on travelers from the mainland.