France calls on all EU nations to test Chinese travellers for COVID-19

In light of an outbreak sweeping the Asian country, France is urging all member states of the European Union to begin testing travelers arriving from China for COVID, Azernews reports citing Euronews.

As a result of EU officials failing to reach a consensus at a meeting in Brussels before Christmas, only France, Italy, and Spain as well as the United Kingdom outside the bloc currently require testing.

This week will see more discussions with the EU.

France will test visitors at random starting on Sunday and will demand that travelers from China present a negative COVID-19 test result obtained less than 48 hours prior to departure.

"France will push for this methodology to be applied across the EU," Health Minister Fransois Braun said as he and Transport Minister Clement Beaune checked on the new procedures at Paris' Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport on Sunday.

Beaune responded, "This is why we must coordinate (across the EU), to be more efficient," when questioned about the possibility that a Chinese traveler with COVID could temporarily land in another EU country before traveling unchecked to France.

Braun noted that entry into France would not be prevented by the passenger arrival controls but described them as "a more scientific control, which will allow us to follow the different variants extremely precisely."

Six flights per week from mainland China and up to ten if flights from Hong Kong are included will count toward the new restrictions that will remain in effect in France until January 31.

Most Chinese travelers only use the hub airport at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle.

Sixty of the 300 passengers on the Beijing-Paris flight touched down on French soil on Sunday. Before leaving to pick up their luggage, everyone agreed to take a quick PCR test.

Agents at the terminal screening center take travelers' identities before administering any tests. The travelers are required to self-isolate for seven days if any test results are positive.

On December 7, China ended its harsh "zero COVID" policy, which had been in place since the first coronavirus cases appeared in the central city of Wuhan three years earlier.

Chinese hospitals have been overrun by an influx of patients since the restrictions were lifted, the majority of whom are elderly and vulnerable due to lax vaccination protocols.