The European Commission met on Thursday morning to “discuss possible measures for a coordinated approach” by EU Member States in the face of the explosion of covid infections in China, a Commission spokesman announced.
The talks aim to move towards a coordinated European approach as numerous Member States have either stated their intention to impose restrictions on arrivals from China, or their desire to do so.
Italy has already imposed mandatory tests for arrivals from China; on 26 December, 97 of the 212 arrivals at Milan's Malpensa Airport tested positive for Covid-19.
Hospitals in China are being overwhelmed with patients after the government abruptly reversed its stringent "zero Covid" measures. The New York Times examined videos that captured the growing crisis. https://t.co/r47G7nCTxR pic.twitter.com/XOrIKy1u3L
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 28, 2022
Following the sudden halt to China's zero-Covid policy, the country has seen a wave of infections with many hospitals overwhelmed and patients being left unattended as staff struggle to cope. Countries around the world are now worried that new virus variants could spread from China.
Along with Italy, Japan has also imposed mandatory tests for arrivals from China as did the US on Wednesday.
