AFP
Vacationers on a flight from China enter the COVID-19 testing heart at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy, on the outskirts of Paris, on January 1, 2023, as France tightens border well being measures. for passengers arriving from China.
Routine pre-departure or pre-arrival testing of vacationers from China for COVID-19 “is neither scientifically justified nor risk-based,” the European department of Airports Council Worldwide (ACI EUROPE) mentioned not too long ago.
In a press launch dated December 31, 2022, the group expressed its “remorse on the actions of varied states throughout the EU (European Union) and all over the world to unilaterally impose health-related journey necessities.”
“These unilateral actions are at odds with all of the expertise and proof gathered within the final three years,” he mentioned, including that “these journey restrictions do not work.”
The ineffectiveness of worldwide journey restrictions in stopping the unfold of COVID-19 and its a number of variants of concern (VOCs) has been unequivocally acknowledged by each the European Heart for Illness Prevention and Management (ECDC) and the World Group of Well being, identified ACI EUROPE.
In accordance with the group, since states should stay vigilant concerning the standing and management of the virus, the main target must be on rising genomic sequencing to determine potential new variants of COVID-19 and associated surveillance.
“Such an strategy, as urged by EU Well being Commissioner (Stella) Kyriakides in a letter despatched earlier this week to member states, doesn’t require testing of travellers, however will be achieved by means similar to testing the waters. waste from airports,” mentioned the ACI EUROPE press launch.
“As soon as once more we’re plunging ourselves right into a patchwork of unjustified and uncoordinated journey restrictions, which haven’t any scientific foundation,” mentioned Olivier Jankovec, Director Common of ACI EUROPE.