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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
While China is currently facing an explosion of cases of Covid infection since the lifting of its health restrictions, the rest of the world is trying to organize itself to avoid an overflow. The European Commission is currently meeting to decide on a common strategy, targeting a priori entries into the territories. But according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control screening would be “unjustified”.
We were already talking about it yesterday in Doctissimo: after almost 3 years of fighting covid, China has abandoned its “Zero covid” policy and put an end to its health restrictions. Result a current spike in cases, commensurate with China, which amazes the whole world. Faced with the fear of a distribution of the new majority variant in China, baptized BF.7, President Emmanuel Macron asked the government to “take appropriate measures to protect the French”.
The European Commission meets for a coordinated decision
It is in this context that the European Commission convened a meeting on Thursday 29 December to “discuss (…) possible measures for a coordinated approach” of EU states, while closely following developments in China.
On Wednesday, Italy already decided to impose compulsory tests on all travelers coming from China, a measure already taken in Japan and adopted by the United States the same day. At the last news, Paris said to itself “ready to study all the useful measures that could be implemented as a result, in conjunction with France’s European partners, and within the legal framework that exists today”.
Tests at the entrance of countries could be discussed when, at the beginning of December, on the recommendation of the Commission, the Twenty-Seven had agreed to remove all restrictions on entry into the EU for travelers from third countries and return to the pre-pandemic situation.
However, at this stage, the introduction of mandatory Covid-19 screening within the European Union, for travelers arriving from China, is “unjustified” has said the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), on the same day.
“EU countries have relatively high levels of immunization and vaccination and “variants circulating in China are already circulating in the EU”, the agency said in a statement. The risk of potential infection would be very low and quite manageable.
Can airport entry testing halt global progress?
While the European meeting has not yet decided on the way forward at the time of writing, one can however wonder if a new implementation of tests before the arrival of Chinese travelers would be sufficient. to stop the spread of a new variant.
For Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo, the response that will be provided, if it comes to tests for Chinese arrivals, is more of a political gesture than a real health measure:
“Regardless of the epidemiological reality (we do indeed see very anxiety-provoking images of overwhelmed Chinese hospitals), there is a pressure between communication and international politics which means that governments are somewhat obliged to react quickly in one way or another. other, if only to avoid being called lax”.
Everything suggests for the moment that the return of tests at the entrance to Europe, for people arriving from China, is the most logical measure to consider:
“It is the least worst of the restrictive measures, and the least restrictive, while showing that we are still doing something. Be careful though, it will not be used to stop the virus, because the tests are never 100% reliable, there will be mistakes, etc. But it is also the only acceptable measure not to fall into xenophobia, or Sinophobia, as was the case in 2020”.