BEIJING(AP), Jan. 3 – The Chinese government has sharply criticized her COVID-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from China, threatening countermeasures against concerned countries, including the United States and several European countries.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday, “We believe that some countries’ entry restrictions aimed at China have no scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable. there is,” he said.
“We firmly oppose attempts to manipulate the response to COVID-19 for political purposes and will act on the principle of reciprocity,” she said. Mao has not indicated what steps China might take.
The comments were China’s toughest yet on the issue. Australia and Canada this week to have travelers from China tested for COVID-19 before boarding as China battles a nationwide coronavirus outbreak after restrictions that applied to much of the pandemic were suddenly eased joined the list of countries that required.
Other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, India, Japan, and some European nations, amid concerns over the lack of data on infections in China and fears that new strains may emerge, have banned travel from China.
Starting Wednesday, anyone traveling from China to France will be required to present a negative virus test taken within the last 48 hours and be randomly tested upon arrival.
The UK will require passengers from China to undergo a COVID test before boarding flights from Thursday.Transportation Secretary Mark Harper said Beijing does not share coronavirus data, so the requirement is “informative”. ,” he said. Health officials will test samples of passengers arriving in the UK, but he said those who test positive do not require quarantine.
Sweden’s health agency said on Tuesday it had asked the government to show travelers from China a recent negative COVID-19 test.
The agency’s statement came as Sweden, which took over the EU’s rotating presidency, on Wednesday tried to convene a meeting of the EU’s crisis management mechanism and agree on a common European policy.
The Swedish government is “preparing to introduce travel restrictions. At the same time, we are in dialogue with our European colleagues to achieve the most equal rules possible in the EU,” Justice Minister Gunner Strömer said in a statement. rice field. Austria also plans to test wastewater from all planes arriving from China for new variants of the coronavirus, the Austrian Press Agency said on Tuesday after Belgium made a similar announcement the day before.
Chinese health officials said last week they had submitted data to GISAID, a global platform for sharing coronavirus data.
The version of the virus that helped spread China’s outbreak was “very similar” to that seen in various parts of the world between July and December, GISAID said Monday.
Hong Kong officials also criticized other countries’ moves. Some countries apply this requirement not only to mainland China, but also to passengers from the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong’s chief secretary Eric Chan said in a Facebook post that the government had sent letters to various consulates on Monday expressing concern over the “unnecessary and inappropriate” regulations.
China, which has followed a “COVID Zero” strategy for most of the pandemic and has imposed strict restrictions to eradicate the virus, abruptly eased those measures in December.
Chinese officials had earlier said that after January 8, international travelers would no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival in China, opening the way for Chinese residents.
