EU Recommends Masks And Testing For Travelers Flying From China

The European Union member states are recommending that all passengers on flights to and from China should wear medical-grade masks. The bloc has also agreed on a requirement that travelers from China to any of the 27 E.U. nations must provide a negative Covid-19 test taken not more than 48 hours prior to departure. This follows the lead of France, Italy and Spain, which had previous announced they would require negative Covid tests for travelers from China.

The new recommendations came at a meeting on Wednesday of Schengen countries, where the nations agreed on a “coordinated precautionary approach” that includes random testing of passengers arriving from China in Europe as well as the sequencing of positive results to strengthen surveillance of variants. Other recommended measures include testing and sequencing of wastewater from airports with international flights and aircraft arriving from China.

The EU’s decision would triple the number of nations requiring pre-arrival testing for travelers from China from one dozen to more than three dozen.

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Officials in China have protested recently imposed testing requirements and threatened to take reciprocal countermeasures.

Late last month, China announced that it was dropping quarantine requirements for international arrivals and allowing outbound travel for Chinese citizens. China will still require foreign visitors to show a negative Covid-19 test before entering the country.

Beginning today, the United States requires Covid-19 tests on travelers from China. All air passengers aged two and older will need a negative result from a test taken within 48 hours before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau.

Other countries requiring negative Covid tests for travelers from China include Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and India.

Just three days before China’s announcement, the U.S. State Department had reissued its Level 3 travel advisory, encouraging Americans to reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau “due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, and COVID-19-related restrictions.”