"No country wants to witness an epidemic outbreak on its territory, not after all the efforts and sacrifices made for almost three years," government spokesman Olivier Véran said on Wednesday after the Council of Ministers.
Faced with the epidemic rebound of the Covid-19 in China, combined with the lifting of restrictions from the Chinese government, France is reacting.
Presenting a negative test dating back less than 48 hours on return or in the event of transit in China is “a common sense measure to protect our fellow citizens and which we take without blinking”, specified Olivier Véran.
“One in three tests was positive”
“An operation was carried out in an airport” on Tuesday “with the carrying out of tests on asymptomatic passengers returning from China: one in three tests was positive, thus attesting to the need for the control measures that we are putting in place”, noted the former Minister of Health.
Beijing on Tuesday deemed "unacceptable" the imposition of Covid tests by a dozen countries on travelers from China.
Also on Tuesday, a committee of health experts from the 27 members of the European Union (Health Security Committee) argued for the imposition of tests on travelers coming from China “by an overwhelming majority”.
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