Several countries order corona tests upon entry into China

After nearly three years of strict precautions, the Chinese leadership abruptly announced an end to its controversial zero-corona policy on December 7. According to officially unconfirmed internal estimates, 248 million people or 18 percent of the population were infected with Corona in the first three weeks of December alone.

For the German federal government, the corona wave in China alone is not a reason for new entry restrictions. The situation is being monitored very closely, a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Health said on Thursday when asked. Italy, for example, works differently: passengers from China must take a mandatory corona test after landing at the airport. Authorities began taking appropriate measures at Rome’s Fiumicino airport on Thursday. The US (from January 5) and India (from Sunday) announced that travelers must show a negative result before departure in the future. However, some experts question the usefulness of such measures.

The background to the measures, for example in the US and Italy, is also the fear of a possible new virus variant emerging in China. Official Chinese information is considered insufficient by the US health authority CDC. Large numbers of infected passengers were also reported from Milan: on December 26, two planes from China landed there, with 97 of the 210 tested passengers testing positive for Corona.

So far, there is no evidence of a new virus variant more dangerous than the one currently spreading in Germany, the federal government said. But this can still change.

«Political overreaction»

Andreas Bobrowski, president of the Professional Association of German Laboratory Doctors, described the travel restrictions as a “political overreaction”. “A medical necessity for this cannot be deduced from the course of the pandemic,” he told the German news agency. Even when the corona was at its peak in Europe with millions of infections in a short time, no more dangerous variants had developed – it is speculative to expect this in China.

In any case, neither rapid tests nor PCR tests in symptom-free patients provide absolute certainty because of the “much too large” time window for departure, Bobrowski said. In the US, the result may not be older than two days, in India it is 72 hours. From Bobrowski’s point of view, studying virus variants is most useful – to see what’s to come.

“The US and Italy apparently want to respond in some way to developments in China and demonstrate civil defense. But I see no need for such steps in Germany at the moment,” says Bremer epidemiologist Hajo Zeeb of the German news agency. The benefit of the travel restrictions is questionable – the virus cannot be stopped even with tests. In addition, there are currently numerous infections with omicron in this country.

“If the incidence here were very low, such measures could be even more justified. But if some of the people arriving from China arrive here infected, there is no reason to fear a new wave,” said Zeeb. Of course there are gaps in knowledge about official Chinese numbers and possible variants. However, Zeeb estimates the initial situation differently than, for example, with the emergence of Omicron: the virus had changed so much that after the first waves – as an immune escape variant – it could still cause infections. “Since immunity in China is not very high so far, Omikron can probably continue there.”

The chairman of the board of the World Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, thinks new entry rules for travelers from China are wise. He told the Funke media group: “It is right to put in place mandatory testing and quarantine regulations for border crossings from China, as is currently happening in many countries around the world. Germany should do the same – out of caution.”

The board member of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, not only thinks new regulations for travelers from China are “bullshit”. He also hates the public debate about it. “Corona was over yesterday. Stricter measures again today. It is precisely this strategy that causes confusion among the population.” (sda/dpa)