The Chinese government strongly denounced the COVID-19 testing mandates imposed on Chinese travellers by various countries, including the U.S. and several European nations, and threatened retaliation.
Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, expressed at a daily briefing on Tuesday that certain countries’ entry restrictions on China are not backed by science and that some excessive measures are intolerable.
Mao stated that China would take countermeasures in response to any attempts to use the COVID regulations for political gain, without elaborating on what those steps might be.
China has made their strongest statements yet about the subject of requiring travellers from their country to be tested for COVID-19 before they board their planes, as their domestic situation sees a significant resurgence of the virus. This follows other nations, including Australia and Canada, making similar demands of those flying in from China.
In response to worries about inadequate information regarding COVID-19 in China and the possibility of fresh variants appearing, stricter regulations have been imposed on people from China entering the U.S.,India,Japan,South Korea and some European countries.
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China has eased its stringent entry requirements for travellers from abroad, eliminating the mandatory five-day quarantine but still requiring a COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of the flight.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, asserted that there is no justification for China to take revenge on countries that are implementing safety regulations for travellers from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She noted that these restrictions were based on scientific fact and public health.
Jean-Pierre stated that this was an action that all of us, including other nations, were taking to safeguard our citizens.
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Elisabeth Borne, the Prime Minister of France, supported the testing protocol that has been put in place. As of Wednesday, all individuals travelling from China to France must show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within the last 48 hours and may be randomly tested upon arrival.
Borne stated on France-Info radio on Tuesday that both himself and his government are fulfilling their respective roles in protecting the French people.
As of Thursday, the United Kingdom will require that individuals travelling from China to the country must have a COVID test prior to getting on the plane. According to Transport Secretary Mark Harper, this measure is for the purpose of “gathering information” since Beijing is not providing coronavirus data.
When passengers arrive in the U.K., health officials will take a sample from them and test it. If the test comes back positive, no quarantine will be necessary, according to the official.
Harper stated on Tuesday to the LBC radio station that the policy for arrivals from China is mainly focused on obtaining data which the Chinese government is not providing to the global community.
The Swedish Public Health Agency asked the government to mandate that anyone arriving from China must have a recent negative coronavirus test.
As Sweden, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, has called for a meeting of the EU’s crisis management system to be held on Wednesday in an effort to reach a unified European approach, the agency issued a statement.
The Swedish government is making plans to implement travel restrictions and is in dialogue with other European countries to have similar rules in the EU. Austria and Belgium have both announced that they will test wastewater from all planes coming from China for coronavirus variants.Last week, China
shared data to GISAID, a global platform for sharing coronavirus data,which showed that the viruses circulating in China were close to those that had been seen in other parts of the world between July and December.
China’s National Health Commission has also stated that they have been open and transparent with the WHO since the start of the pandemic, and Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary has criticised the rules some countries have imposed on passengers from China, Macao, and Hong Kong. Experts, such as Kerry Bowman, have questioned the effectiveness of testing and Canada announced its own measures last weekend.
China has also relaxed their own restrictions, allowing overseas travellers to enter without the need to quarantine.