EPIDEMIC: Several countries, including France, have decided to make it compulsory for travellers coming from China to present a negative test for Covid-19
Beijing on Tuesday condemned the imposition of Covid-19 tests by a dozen countries on travellers from China, warning that it could take “countermeasures” in retaliation.
“Some countries have put in place entry restrictions aimed only at Chinese travellers. It has no scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, adding that China may “take countermeasures, based on the principle of reciprocity.”
China has kept its borders largely closed to foreign nationals since 2020. The country has not issued tourist visas for almost three years and imposes a mandatory quarantine on arrival. This isolation measure will be lifted on January 8th, but a screening test of less than 48 hours will remain required before arriving on Chinese territory. The move coincides with the expected and gradual resumption of overseas travel by the Chinese after three years of frustration.
In the name of the precautionary principle, a dozen countries have decided to impose PCR tests on travellers from China, hit by a surge of Covid-19 cases. Morocco has purely and simply banned entry into its territory to all travellers from China, “regardless of their nationality”.
