The sudden abandonment of the zero Covid policy in China, which is facing an unprecedented surge in cases, has raised fears of the appearance of new variants abroad and has prompted several countries to reinstate protective measures at the entrance of their territory. These latter are “understandable” in view of the lack of information provided by Beijing, said Thursday, December 29 the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urging Beijing to communicate more on the state of the epidemic in the country .
“In the absence of complete information from China, it is understandable that countries take the measures they believe will protect their people”, Mr. Tedros said on Twitter. Several countries, including Italy, Japan and the United States, have decided to impose compulsory tests on all travelers coming from China.
The European Commission, for its part, convened an informal meeting on Thursday to ” discuss (…) possible measures for a coordinated approach” of EU states in the face of the explosion of cases in China. The introduction of mandatory screening within the European Union (EU) for travelers arriving from China is “unjustified”however, estimated the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Health systems “are able to manage” the disease
EU countries “have relatively high levels of immunization and vaccination” and the “Variants circulating in China are already circulating in the EU”, said the ECDC in a statement, explaining that such a measure is not necessary at the level of the Union as a whole. For the European agency, “potential infections” that can be imported are “rather weak” compared to the number of infections already circulating on a daily basis, and health systems “are now able to manage” disease, she added. The Commission will “continue to facilitate discussions between member states”was content to let a spokesperson know after the meeting, without further details.
“We are concerned about the development of the situation” in China “and we continue to encourage China to track down the virus and vaccinate those most at risk”, added the head of the WHO. Chinese hospitals are overwhelmed by a large number of infections after Beijing’s decision to lift strict rules that had long helped stem the spread of the pandemic, but had plunged the economy and sparked protests within the community. population.
Chinese authorities announced this week that they are ending mandatory quarantine on arrival in China, prompting many Chinese to plan to travel abroad. On Dec. 21, Tedros told reporters his organization was concerned about the resurgence of the outbreak in China, where the national health commission last week said it was giving up publishing a daily tally. deaths from Covid-19.