Faced with the explosion in the number of Covid-19 infections in China, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) deemed “unjustified” the introduction of compulsory screening for Covid-19 at the European Union scale for travelers arriving from China.
EU countries “have relatively high immunization and vaccination levels” and “variants circulating in China are already circulating in the EU,” the ECDC said in a statement on Thursday.
Several countries have already adopted preventive measures
For the European agency, “the potential infections” that can be imported are “rather low” compared to the number of infections already circulating on a daily basis. Health systems “are now able to manage” the disease, added the ECDC.
The European Commission had convened an informal meeting on Thursday to “discuss (…) possible measures for a coordinated approach” of EU states in the face of the explosion of Covid-19 cases in China. The Commission will “continue to facilitate discussions between member states”, indicated a spokesperson after the meeting without further details.
Several countries including Italy or Japan, as well as the United States, have already decided to impose compulsory tests on all travelers coming from China.
The sudden end this month of China’s “zero Covid” policy, which should encourage a resumption of overseas travel by Chinese people, came as the country faces the largest wave of infections in the world, amplified by the appearance of new variants.