The European Commission has asked EU member states to review Covid testing and sequencing procedures and to consider scaling them back up amid increased concern about the virus spreading from China.
(Bloomberg) — The European Commission has asked EU member states to review Covid testing and sequencing procedures and to consider scaling them back up amid increased concern about the virus spreading from China.
“If a new variant of the SARS-CoV2 virus appears – be it in China or in the EU – we must detect it early in order to be prepared to react fast,” Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides wrote in a letter sent Thursday to health ministers and seen by Bloomberg.
The commission “is closely observing developments in China regarding the alarming increases in Covid-19 cases there” as well as the potential impact of travel from China to the EU once the government in Beijing eases travel curbs on Jan.
8, she added.
Italy and Spain, two major European tourist destinations, this week announced the re-introduction of mandatory testing for passengers arriving from China, prompted by a surge in infections after Beijing began unwinding China’s zero Covid policy and easing curbs.
The Italian government later said that no unknown strains of the virus had been found so far in samples tested in Milan.
Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias said Friday that the government in Madrid is pushing for the EU to require arrivals from China to provide proof of full vaccination.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it doesn’t support screenings and restrictions of travelers in the current situation, according to a statement following a meeting of member states and EU health agencies on Thursday.
Europeans have high levels of protection against Covid-19, health systems on the continent are equipped to handle the current load of infections and all variants detected in tests were already present in the EU, the ECDC said.
“I would call for us to remain very vigilant as reliable epidemiological data or testing data for China are quite scarce, the general vaccination coverage in China is low and there is no equivalence decision regarding Chinese vaccination or recovery certificates with the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate,” Kyriakides said in the letter to ministers.
–With assistance from Alonso Soto.
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