The Portuguese Ministry of Health has announced that all passengers coming from China will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test upon boarding, thus joining other European countries that have already decided to reinforce border control with the Asian country.
The measure will come into force at 00.00 hours on Sunday and, from the early hours of this Saturday morning, passengers arriving in Portugal on this route «will be subject to random but mandatory tests», as reported by the newspaper ‘Público’.
The Health Ministry has also specified that the random test will be applied «to the passengers of the flight coming from China and landing this Saturday» in Lisbon. At the same time, wastewater monitoring mechanisms will also be implemented at the Humberto Delgado International Airport in Lisbon and on planes from China, with a view to identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus and subsequent genomic sequencing.
The Portuguese government has been considering the introduction of this measure for several days, while other EU member states such as Spain, Italy and France have already announced restrictions on travelers from China.
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, leading countries around the world to impose new controls on travelers from the Asian giant.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
