Covid-19. Screening of travelers from China “unjustified”, according to a European agency

The explosion of Covid-19 cases in China, a consequence of the abrupt end of the “zero Covid” policy, has aroused the concern of several countries. Some, including Italy, Japan and soon the United States, have decided to impose screening on travelers from the Middle Kingdom. But for the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), such a measure is “unjustified” at the level of the countries of the European Union.

EU countries “have relatively high immunization and vaccination levels” and “variants circulating in China are already circulating in the EU,” ECDC said in a statement on Thursday. 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. The European Commission called a meeting on Thursday to “discuss (…) possible measures for a coordinated approach” of EU states in the face of the explosion of Covid cases in China.

No new variant detected in Italy

In Italy, where the mandatory test for travelers from China has been introduced, no new variant has yet been detected. Travelers who test positive at this stage are carriers of « Omicron variants already present in Italy », Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said. She also deplored that Italy’s decision to impose mandatory tests « may not be completely effective if it is not taken at European level », stressing that these tests only concern direct flights from China, not those with layover.