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USA and Italy introduce compulsory corona tests for travelers from China

2022-12-28T22:02:26.766Z


USA and Italy introduce compulsory corona tests for travelers from China Created: 12/28/2022, 10:56 p.m A woman in China undergoes a PCR test. © picture alliance/dpa/kyodo | - The USA and Italy have announced that they will in future require travelers from China to have a negative corona test. Other countries could follow suit with a similar regulation. Washington DC/Rome - The violent corona


USA and Italy introduce compulsory corona tests for travelers from China

Created: 12/28/2022, 10:56 p.m

A woman in China undergoes a PCR test.

© picture alliance/dpa/kyodo |

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The USA and Italy have announced that they will in future require travelers from China to have a negative corona test.

Other countries could follow suit with a similar regulation.

Washington DC/Rome - The violent corona wave in China is also causing concern abroad: After the lifting of most corona virus restrictions in China, Italy on Wednesday became the first European country to introduce mandatory corona tests for travelers from the People's Republic.

The US will also require a negative corona test for entry from Macau, Hong Kong and China, as the US health authority announced on Wednesday.

Travelers from China must show a negative corona test when entering the USA and Italy

Italy's Health Minister Orazio Schillaci explained the background to the decision.

He ordered “mandatory Covid-19 antigen swabs and the associated virus sequencing for all passengers coming from China and traveling through Italy,” said Schillaci.

This measure is "essential to ensure the monitoring and identification of all variants of the virus to protect the Italian population".

The US health authority CDC announced on Wednesday that from January 5, 2023, a negative PCR or antigen corona test would also be required for entry into the USA.

This applies regardless of the nationality of the travelers and their vaccination status.

The test must not be older than two days.

This measure is necessary "because no adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genome sequence data are reported from the People's Republic of China," the authority said in its communication on the decision.

However, this data is crucial to effectively monitor the increase in corona cases and reduce the likelihood of a new worrying variant, it said.

The US authority thus criticized China's lack of transparency in dealing with the corona pandemic.

BF.7 omicron variant in China: Scientists warn of new variants

In the first three weeks of December alone, an estimated 248 million people in China contracted the virus.

Scientists warn that the corona wave could produce new variants that would then find their way to other countries.

There is currently no precise picture of the situation as there are no reliable figures from China.

The Chinese Health Commission also announced on Sunday that it would no longer publish the corona numbers on a daily basis.

One thing is clear: people are getting sick in droves, hospitals are experiencing a rush.

Authorities are calling for people to cure Covid-19 at home.

Fever and cold medicines are sold out in many pharmacies.

According to the Chinese epidemiologist Zhong Nanshan, the particularly easily transmissible omicron variant BF.7 - a sub-variant of BA.5.2 - is also spreading in the north in Beijing and the surrounding province of Hebei.

So far, the new corona variant has been more common in the south and south-west of the country in metropolises such as Guangzhou and Chongqing.

The abrupt end of China's zero-corona policy is causing international fears

After almost three years of strict precautions, China's leadership abruptly announced an end to its controversial zero-corona policy on December 7th.

With seemingly bitter consequences, as rumors of China's corona chaos with an alleged 248 million infected people are circulating.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, China's strategy has been to contain the virus as best it can, fighting even the smallest outbreaks with lockdowns, mass testing and forced quarantines.

In the end, however, the measures could no longer do much against the more easily transferrable Omikron variant.

Almost all Chinese are now coming into contact with the virus for the first time.

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The decision on the new entry requirements for the USA and Italy comes amid high tensions in the world political situation.

Other countries could now follow suit and also require travelers from China to carry out mandatory corona tests.

Japan and India have already announced similar steps

(dpa/bme).

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-12-28

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