Spain decided - today, Friday - to impose a Corona examination on those coming from China, where the epidemic is spreading again, and while the European Union issued a recommendation to monitor new strains of the virus, the World Health Organization said that it needed additional information from Beijing in order to be able to assess the situation.

Today, the Spanish government imposed on travelers coming from China to conduct “checks” at its airports, to ensure that they are not infected with Covid-19.

And Spanish Minister of Health Carolina Darías said - in a press conference - that these arrivals will be asked for "evidence that their examinations are negative (...) or a certificate of vaccination in full," without mentioning the date of the entry into force of the procedure.

She explained that "the main source of concern lies in the possibility of the emergence of new uncontrolled variants in China," stressing that this measure would constitute "the best guarantee for the safety of all."

It is noteworthy that Corona infections rose across China this month, after Beijing abandoned its strict “zero Covid” policy, including subjecting residents to regular “PCR” checks.

In the aftermath, the United States, South Korea, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan required travelers from China to undergo tests for Covid-19.


Monitoring and control

EU Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides said the EU should immediately consider stepping up genetic sequencing of COVID-19 cases and monitoring sewage, including at airports, for any new strain of the virus, given the increase in infections in China.

And she added - in a letter addressed to the health ministers of the 27 EU countries - that the bloc should exercise "extreme vigilance" with China's decision to lift travel restrictions.

Kyriakides advised ministers to assess their current practices regarding genetic sequencing of the coronavirus "as an immediate step".

She said that countries that have reduced the frequency of these checks should consider returning to intensify them, adding that it is important to continue or start monitoring waste water, especially from major airports.

She indicated that the conglomerate needs early monitoring of any new strain that appears in order to be able to move quickly.

The speech of the EU Commissioner for Health Affairs came after an online meeting - which included more than 100 participants from the Union and the World Health Organization - to discuss how to deal with the outbreak in China.

additional information

In the same context, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the organization needs more information to assess the recent increase in the number of coronavirus infections in China.

"In order to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the COVID-19 situation on the ground in China, WHO needs more detailed information," Tedros wrote - in a tweet.

For its part, the National Health Commission of China said - in a statement - that senior officials in the country's health sector exchanged views with the World Health Organization - today, Friday - regarding the emerging corona virus during a video conference.

The committee said that the two sides exchanged views on the current epidemiological situation, medical treatments, vaccinations and other technical matters, adding that further exchanges of views on these matters will continue.

For its part, Chinese official media said that the conditions for examining Covid-19, which were applied by several countries around the world, due to the increase in infections with the disease in China, are "discriminatory."

"The real intention is to sabotage China's 3-year efforts to control COVID-19 and attack the country's system," the official Global Times newspaper said - in an article published late Thursday - calling the restrictions "baseless" and "discriminatory." .


Indonesian decision

On the other hand, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that his country had canceled - today, Friday - with immediate effect, all remaining restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19, after most of the population had already developed antibodies against the disease.

"There are no restrictions on gatherings and movements anymore," the president said - in a press conference - noting that the decision was taken based on the latest numbers of injuries.

The President urged citizens to continue to be vigilant regarding the virus, including by continuing to wear masks in closed and crowded places.

In all, Indonesia - the fourth most populous country in the world - has recorded more than 6.7 million injuries and 160,583 deaths.

International numbers

It is noteworthy that the Corona virus appeared for the first time in Wuhan, southern China, in late 2019, and it soon spread around the world.

According to figures recently issued by the World Health Organization, the Corona epidemic has so far affected about 652 million people, and has killed more than 6.6 million people around the world.

The organization said that the last 24 hours witnessed more than 778,000 new infections.