The Meloni government first relaxed all corona measures, now it is imposing new restrictions – and is calling on Europe to go along with it. Brussels and Bern advocate a uniform approach.
The Chinese are allowed to travel again, but stricter requirements apply to them due to the infection situation in some countries.
Exactly three years after the first Covid 19 cases appeared, air travelers from China in Italy must undergo a mandatory corona test. The first two cases that became known in Italy at the time concerned Chinese tourists who had reported their symptoms themselves and later tested positive. It is probably this memory that prompted Rome to act quickly. Italy was one of the countries hit particularly early and hard by the pandemic.
The new measure came into force on Thursday. Italy was the first European country to tighten the screw again in the fight against the pandemic.
Orazio Schillaci, Minister of Health in Giorgia Meloni’s government, said on Wednesday that the decision “is essential to ensure that possible virus variants are monitored and identified to protect the Italian population”. With the Measures Italy is reacting to the relaxation of the corona policy in China and the sharp rise in the number of cases there.
Appeal to Europe
The direct trigger, however, were figures from Milan. The regional government there had already introduced tests for travelers from China on an optional basis on December 26th. It turned out that around half of all air passengers coming from there were positive. Now all travelers from the Asian country have to undergo a test, including transit passengers. Anyone who tests positive must isolate themselves. Chinese arriving from another country are not covered by the obligation.
The Italian government is therefore appealing to the Schengen partners to go along with it. The measures are “not fully effective if they are not taken at European level,” said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday at her big media conference at the end of the year. “We expect and hope that the European Union will work in this direction.”
However, the first evaluations from Milan are cautiously optimistic. The omicron variant, which is widespread in Europe, was found in the swabs of the passengers who tested positive, said Meloni, referring to information from the Minister of Health. “Orazio Schillaci told me that the first sequenced cases were omicron variants that were already found in Italy,” said the head of government. So there is currently no evidence of unknown or more aggressive variants.
The fact that the Meloni government is now introducing mandatory tests is interpreted by the opposition as a U-turn and an admission of failure. “The government’s strategy of pretending that Covid no longer exists seems to have failed. Reality is stronger than communication», said about former Secretary of Health Robert Speranza.
In fact, since Melonis took office, numerous measures have been scaled back, such as compulsory testing or the presentation of the certificate when visiting nursing homes. Doctors and nurses who did not want to be vaccinated against Covid were again admitted to the hospitals.
At her media conference, however, Meloni was unimpressed. Controls, tests and masks are still useful against the virus, she said. «In my opinion, the deprivation of liberty as we have known it in the past is not effective, as evidenced by the events in China. We have to rely on the responsibility of the citizens and not on coercion.”
Emergency meeting of the EU
Although Italy is so far the only European country to tighten entry regulations, concern about possible mutations of the virus is growing internationally. The United States had already imposed stricter requirements for travelers from China on Wednesday. Air travelers from the People’s Republic must show a negative corona test result from January 5th. That shared the health authority CDC on Wednesday.
According to the AFP news agency, the French government wants to examine “useful measures” in coordination with its European partners. The Health Committee of the EU Commission called on the member states to coordinate measures after an emergency meeting on Thursday. “We must act together and will continue our discussion,” said one tweet of the committee.
The BAG is relaxed
No measures are planned in Switzerland for the time being. “Switzerland will be based on the EU in terms of entry requirements and the risk list,” said the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) on request. The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) is also relaxed. The starting position is different than at the beginning of the pandemic three years ago.
The vast majority of people in Switzerland have been vaccinated, have had an infection or both. This results in a high level of protection against a severe course of Covid 19 disease. “We are therefore currently not assuming that the current infection process in China poses an increased risk.”
As far as possible measures are concerned, a coordinated approach with the other Schengen countries is welcomed. If a new virus variant occurs, Switzerland can independently introduce border sanitary measures if necessary.
Meanwhile, the World Medical Association advocates tightening entry requirements. It is “right to make mandatory testing and quarantine regulations for border crossings from China, as is currently happening in many countries around the world,” said Frank Ulrich Montgomery, President of the Funke media group. “In view of the high number of cases, new variants of the virus could arise from mutations,” says Montgomery.
Missing data make it difficult to assess the variants
It is not only the high number of corona cases in the People’s Republic that are causing concern, but also the lack of gene sequencing. This makes it difficult to identify possible new virus variants and to react accordingly, an American government official told the AFP news agency. To protect the American population, all travelers from China are required to be tested, regardless of their nationality and vaccination status. announced the CDC.
At the beginning of the week, India, Taiwan and Japan decided to make testing compulsory for people entering China. Tokyo announced that it also wants to reduce flights from the People’s Republic.