Other countries have taken similar measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Malaysia, for example, has announced new measures to track and monitor Chinese travelers. India, South Korea and Taiwan require test results.
Italy has become the first country in Europe to require people arriving from China to be tested for COVID-19 after Beijing decided to reopen its borders and lifted its harsh “zero coronavirus” policy. The decision by Italian authorities to introduce tests for all arrivals from China comes almost three years after Italy became the first Western country hit by the pandemic, which has so far claimed more than 180,000 lives in that country. “This measure is necessary to guarantee the surveillance and detection of any variant of the virus in order to protect the Italian population,” Italian Health Minister Horazio Squillaci said.
Italy is already taking samples at Rome’s Fiumicino airport and Milan’s Malpensa airport, where one in two passengers arriving on flights from China who passed the optional tests tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.
A Downing Street spokesman said London was not considering travel restrictions for visitors from China.
Determining the spread of COVID-19 in China is now more difficult than ever, as Beijing stopped publishing daily case data.
