The Swedish EU Council Presidency has solely been in cost for just a few days and has already handed its first check. The authorities in Stockholm had pushed for a uniform line when coping with vacationers from China – and as shortly as attainable.
In the night, representatives of the 27 member states agreed on a coordinated strategy at a multi-hour assembly of the EU Crisis Response Mechanism (IPCR). In it, EU establishments and the member states coordinate to avert crises or to have the ability to take care of them higher.
The 27 couldn’t agree on a check requirement for vacationers from the People’s Republic. However, the member states are “urgently requested” to prescribe a destructive corona check for all passengers earlier than departure from China, which should not be older than 48 hours.
On Tuesday, the vast majority of EU well being specialists within the accountable committee spoke out in favor of obligatory testing. “The conclusion at the meeting was that a large majority of Member States believe that introducing such tests at this point would be prudent, reasonable and important,” stated EU Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant.
Wastewater from plane is to be examined
According to the Swedish Council Presidency, the EU international locations agree on the advice for vacationers to put on masks on flights to and from China. In addition, the EU international locations ought to randomly test air passengers from China upon arrival. Positive check outcomes are to be sequenced to be able to shortly uncover attainable new virus variants. The waste water from plane coming from China must also be examined for this.
Ahead of the assembly, European Commission spokesman Tim McPhie stated: “We believe that in the circumstances, we need to take a proactive approach to ensure we remain vigilant and that we have the necessary tools in place to identify and manage potential risks .”
Some EU international locations have pushed forward: France, Italy and Spain are already demanding a destructive check from vacationers from China. Austria and Belgium depend on the wastewater evaluation, as does the federal authorities. Berlin can also be demanding a standard EU strategy. This can also be the main focus in Brussels: “Our goal is to be vigilant and to monitor, test and detect variants appropriately,” stated McPhie.
The EU well being authority will not be involved
Well-known virologists in Germany don’t contemplate obligatory exams for vacationers from China to be vital. The EU well being authority ECDC additionally sees the state of affairs calmly: According to an announcement, the rise within the variety of infections in China won’t have an effect on the epidemiological state of affairs within the EU. Reason: According to the authority, the virus variants circulating in China have lengthy been widespread in Europe and don’t pose a problem to the immune response of EU residents as a result of they’re comparatively nicely immunized and vaccinated in massive numbers.
At the assembly of the disaster response group, the member states agreed to overview the measures taken by the center of the month.
