Spain announces Covid restrictions for travellers from China

Passengers entering Spain will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test result or prove they have been fully vaccinated.

The move follows Italy's announcement earlier this week that all passengers arriving from China need to be tested for COVID-19.

As COVID-19 cases in China surge, authorities around the world are either imposing or considering restrictions on Chinese travelers.


In the UK, various ministers have stated that the government is "reviewing" the situation.

Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care, Will Quince has said the "key threat" to the country is the possibility of new emerging variants.

However, Professor Andrew Pollard, chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, Oxford UK, believes that imposing travel restrictions will be ineffective in preventing new variants from entering the country.

Following Beijing's decision to abandon its zero-COVID policy, coronavirus infections have rapidly increased throughout the country in December.



Outside the EU, countries like the US, Japan, India, Taiwan, and South Korea are enacting new restrictions. A statement from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), said such steps are not required for the EU as a whole.

Travelers from the Chinese mainland must present a negative COVID-19 test result upon arrival in Japan. People who test positive must stay in quarantine for 7 days.

Beginning on January 1, travelers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand, who are going to India must have a negative COVID-19 test result.
China has refuted COVID data criticism and stated that it anticipates future mutations to be more transmissible but less severe.

FAQs:

1. Which was the first country to bring the Covid vaccine?
   On December 2, 2020, the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to grant Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine emergency approval.
2. How many people have received a Covid vaccine?
   More than 5.47 billion people, or roughly 71.3 per cent of the world's population, have received a Covid vaccine.