PARIS – France, Spain and England will introduce stricter COVID-19 measures for passengers arriving from China, authorities said on Friday.
The French government is requiring negative tests and urging French citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to China. France is also reintroducing the mask requirement on flights from China to France.
French health authorities will carry out random PCR tests at airports on passengers arriving from China to identify potential new coronavirus variants. The new rules come into effect on Sunday, but officials said it would take a few days for them to be fully in place.
The UK government announced that anyone traveling to England on direct flights from China will be required to take a pre-departure test from January 5.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said Britain was taking a “balanced and precautionary approach”. He described the measures as “temporary” while officials assess COVID-19 statistics.
France and Spain said they would continue to push for a Europe-wide policy.
France’s hospitals have been dealing with large numbers of patients over the past few weeks from three simultaneous outbreaks: the seasonal flu, a surge in bronchitis cases and COVID-19.
Earlier, the Spanish government announced that all passengers coming from China would have to present negative tests or proof of vaccination.
Health Minister Carolina Darías told reporters that following the surge in cases in China, Spain will push for similar action at the European level. She said coronavirus health checks were being stepped up at Spanish airports.
Darías did not specify when the new requirement would come into effect.
Spain made the announcement after Italy announced it would require coronavirus testing for passengers flying from China. Health officials from the 27-member European Union vowed Thursday to continue talks to find a common approach, but held back from imposing restrictions.
“There is a shared international and national concern about the evolution of the cases in China and the difficulty of making a proper assessment of the COVID-19 situation given the sparse information available to us,” Darías said.
Darías pointed out that China will lift travel restrictions from January 8 and there will likely be a large increase in people traveling abroad. She said the main concern is the possible emergence of new coronavirus variants and it is important to act quickly.
The United States announced new COVID-19 testing requirements Wednesday for travelers from China, joining some Asian nations that had imposed restrictions. Japan on Friday started asking for tests for passengers arriving from China.
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