China strongly condemns the COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers from China that a dozen countries have already introduced.

It is now also clear that a large majority of EU countries want to introduce the same thing, the European Commission states.

Consensus on the recommendation was reached during a meeting of officials from EU countries' health ministries in Brussels. An emergency meeting will be held on Wednesday to decide on coordinated measures.

The US, France and Japan are some of the countries that have already introduced special requirements for travelers from China. They now require travelers to be tested before they are allowed to enter the country.

Earlier on Tuesday, China threatened to "take countermeasures.".

”This lacks scientific basis and some methods are completely unacceptable,” said Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

In France, for example, they are still sticking to testing travelers. On Tuesday morning, the country's prime minister confirmed that the decision is firm.

”I believe we are doing our duty to protect the French people by demanding testing,” said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne when asked to respond to China’s protests.

China has seen a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country since the country's strict zero-tolerance policy was recently abandoned. According to a doctor quoted by state media, as many as 70 percent of the city of Shanghai's population may have been infected during the latest wave.

Several other cities with a population of over one million are also hard hit, including Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing and Guangzhou. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged China to share real-time data on Covid cases, and has also offered expert assistance to tackle the latest outbreak.

Many question China's official data because the infection numbers and, above all, the death toll are so low, despite reports that hospitals in the country are overcrowded.

Nowadays, people traveling into China do not have to quarantine, which has led many to plan trips abroad.

Source: TT-DI.SE