European Union nations will try again on Wednesday to shape a coordinated approach on whether authorities should check passengers on incoming airlines from China should check for new variants of Covid-19 after several member nations announced individual efforts during the last week.
Belgium said late Monday it would review wastewater from planes arriving from China to see if it yields new clues to any potentially dangerous variants. He said he would urge visitors from China who are not feeling well to get a covid-19 test.
More must be done, but only in a coordinated approach among the 27 member states, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said. “It would be a good sign for China if all the EU nations said together: ‘If you come to Europe, you must first get tested,” he told VRT.
Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said officials from member states will hold an Integrated Policy Crisis Response meeting on Wednesday to see if bloc-wide entry requirements are necessary.
“It is important that we take the necessary measures quickly,” Swedish Health Minister Jakob Forssmed said.
EU nations France, Spain and Italy have already announced independent measures to implement stricter measures against covid-19 for passengers arriving from China.
The French government requires negative tests and urges French citizens to avoid non-essential travel to China. France is also reintroducing mask requirements on flights from China to France.
Spain’s government said it would require all air passengers coming from China to have negative tests or proof of vaccination. Italy was the first EU member to require coronavirus tests for airline passengers from China, but several others have said such measures might not be the best option to protect local populations, as new variants now come from China and have already been around in Europe, often for many months.
The United States on Wednesday announced new Covid-19 testing requirements for all travelers from China, joining some Asian nations that had imposed restrictions due to a surge in infections.
