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China and Corona: France and probably Great Britain are introducing compulsory testing

2022-12-30T20:03:17.225Z


A radical turnaround in Chinese corona policy suddenly raised concerns about virus variants again. More and more European countries are introducing measures – and putting pressure on the federal government.


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These scenes could soon exist in other European countries: travelers from China during the corona test in Italy

Photo:

JENNIFER LORENZINI / REUTERS

After Italy and Spain, other countries want to introduce a corona test requirement for travelers from China.

As the French government explained, travelers from China must in future submit a negative corona test that is less than 48 hours old.

The obligation to test should apply regardless of whether travelers land on French territory with a direct flight or after a changeover.

British media such as the Times, the Telegraph and the BBC report that the government in London will also introduce mandatory tests for travelers from China.

Beijing backed away from its zero-Covid policy in early December.

Since then, China has experienced the highest increase in infections worldwide, and hospitals are overcrowded in many places.

Countries such as the USA, Japan, India and Malaysia have therefore already tightened their entry requirements for travelers from the country this week.

Is the government's position changing?

And now the pressure on the federal government could also increase.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said on Friday that he saw no reason for compulsory testing for travelers from China.

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Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) sees no reason (yet) for mandatory testing for travelers from China

Photo: Michele Tantussi / REUTERS

However, Lauterbach had also announced that he would speak to his French counterpart about the subject in the afternoon.

"We need a European solution," said Lauterbach.

The Minister of Health said that all virus variants observed so far are already known.

However, the situation could change, especially since data on variants from China “cannot be called up reliably”.

He announced that he would prepare "variant monitoring" at airports together with other European countries.

hba/AFP

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-12-30

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