Spain is the second EU country after Italy to announce travel restrictions for passengers from China
Spain is reintroducing a negative test for the new coronavirus or a certificate of full vaccination as a necessary entry condition for travelers from China, a day after the Commission’s informal meeting in Brussels to find a “coordinated approach” by member states on the outbreak of cases in China.
The measure was announced today by the Spanish Minister of Health, who, however, did not specify when it will come into force.
“Nationally, we will implement checks at airports where all passengers coming from China will be required to show a negative COVID-19 test or a certificate showing a complete vaccination regimen, Carolina Darias said in a brief press conference .
This decision by the government of Pedro Sanchez follows the lifting of health restrictions by the Chinese authorities, which resulted in a spectacular explosion of new coronavirus cases in China.
Of all EU member states, Spain is, after Italy, the country hardest hit in March 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Spanish government imposed a very strict lockdown that deeply scarred the population.
Before Spain, only Italy among the EU 27 took the decision in recent days to claim negative tests for COVID-19 from passengers coming from China. Outside the EU, the US and Japan have taken similar action.
In a statement released yesterday, Thursday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said that introducing mandatory testing for COVID-19 within the EU for visitors from China would be “unjustified”.
EU member states “have relatively high levels of immunity and vaccination” and “variants circulating in China are already circulating in the EU,” the Center explained, arguing that such a measure was not necessary at EU level as a whole.
Despite the explosion in the number of cases, Chinese authorities announced that on January 8 they will end the mandatory quarantine of those arriving in China and allow Chinese to travel abroad again, after three years of isolation.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
_175639.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
