Israel, Spain and Italy will require travelers from China to test negative for coronavirus

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced today the imposition of tests coronavirus for foreign travelers from China, who experiences an explosion of COVID-19 caseswhile Spain and Italy follow the same tactic.

Health Minister Arie Deri, who took office on Thursday night, was meeting today with senior public health officials to take stock of the impact on Israel by the dramatic increase in the number of virus cases in China.

During the meeting, “it was decided to instruct foreign airlines to accept foreign nationals on a flight from China to Israel only if they have a (negative) test for Covid,” the statement underlined.

The minister also called for the establishment of a “voluntary” diagnostic center for people returning from China and advised them to “avoid” travel to that country.

The lifting of health restrictions by the Chinese authorities has resulted in a sharp explosion of cases of the new coronavirus in China, after the abrupt abandonment of the so-called “zero Covid policy” in the country.

China has announced the end of mandatory quarantine on arrival in its territory from January 8 and the gradual resumption of overseas travel for Chinese, which has worried many countries, including the US.

A pioneer in Covid vaccination, Israel had imposed tests on foreign travelers and even special exemptions for flights from certain countries before lifting almost all of these measures in early 2022.

Earlier today, before Israel’s announcement, Spain announced that travelers from China to Spain will be required to have a negative test for the novel coronavirus or a certificate of full vaccination against Covid-19.

Before the Spainonly the Italy, among the 27 member states of the European Union, had taken the decision in recent days to require negative tests from passengers arriving from China. Outside the EU, the US and Japan have taken similar decisions.