France will require travelers arriving by air from China to show a negative COVID-19 test performed within 48 hours prior to travel, joining other countries such as Italy and Spain, which have already decided to reinforce border control with the Asian country.
This has been detailed by the French Government in statements reported by ‘Le Monde’, implementing three measures aimed at «protecting the French» against the risks of the emergence of new variants of coronavirus.
Specifically, all passengers arriving in the country from China — whether on a direct flight or with a stopover — must present a negative PCR or COVID-19 antigen test less than 48 hours before departure in order to be able to board.
Likewise, the use of masks will be mandatory during the flight and, as of January 1, random PCR tests will be carried out on passengers in order to carry out epidemiological monitoring and to track possible new variants of the virus, according to the newspaper.
In this regard, the French Executive has appealed to the citizens of France to postpone their flights to China, except for compelling reasons.
The explosion of COVID-19 cases in China, resulting from the withdrawal of most of the restrictions imposed throughout the pandemic, has generated concern worldwide and has led to the imposition in several countries of new controls for travelers from the Asian giant.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Thursday that, for the time being, bringing back this type of measures was «unjustified», given that Europe has a high level of immunization and no new variants have been detected that would give additional cause for concern.
The European Commission, for its part, called for a «coordinated» approach and convened an extraordinary meeting of the Health Security Committee from which no new measures emerged, beyond advocating «active vigilance» on the evolution of the situation in China. Italy, however, has already advocated common restrictions through its Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
