China Covid: France, Spain, S Korea and Israel tighten rules - BBC

France and Spain person announced Covid investigating connected visitors from China, pursuing a akin determination successful Italy.

The French authorities said passengers flying from China to France would person to contiguous a antagonistic Covid trial little than 48 hours aged earlier embarking.

Arrivals successful Spain tin skip the tests if they are afloat vaccinated - and Spain does judge immoderate Chinese vaccines.

Its existent Covid surge has caused wariness, with reports of hospitals filling up and waves of illness.

The UK, South Korea and Israel besides announced caller investigating rules connected Friday, portion the US and India person already imposed restrictions.

"At the nationalist level, we volition instrumentality controls astatine airports and necessitate travellers from China to contiguous a antagonistic Covid trial oregon beryllium afloat vaccinated," said Spanish wellness curate Carolina Darias.

Neither France nor Spain person specified erstwhile the measures volition travel into force.

However, the French wellness and transport ministries said the authorities would people a decree and notify EU subordinate states.

On Thursday, the EU's illness prevention bureau has said specified measures were not justified successful Europe, due to the fact that of the levels of immunity and the information that variants spreading successful China were already contiguous connected the continent.

The World Health Organization, however, has said it was "understandable" that immoderate countries had decided to enforce restrictions and urged Beijing to beryllium much forthcoming astir its Covid numbers.

China's overseas ministry said earlier this week that its "epidemic situation" wide was "predictable and nether control".

But the existent toll of regular cases and deaths successful China is chartless arsenic officials person stopped requiring cases to beryllium reported, and changed classifications for Covid deaths.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that travellers from China would request to person a antagonistic PCR oregon antigen trial earlier boarding flights to South Korea.

They volition besides request to acquisition a PCR trial wrong the archetypal time of their accomplishment successful South Korea.

Israel, meanwhile, has ordered overseas airlines not to let radical to question from China unless they person tested antagonistic - and asked its ain citizens to debar unnecessary question there.

Not each countries person announced controls. Germany has joined Australia, France, and Portugal successful saying determination volition beryllium nary caller rules yet.

However, Germany's wellness curate has said the state is seeking a co-ordinated strategy to show variants crossed European airports.

China's determination this week to reopen its borders connected 8 January marks the past signifier of the country's arguable zero-Covid policy, which President Xi Jinping had personally endorsed.

As the remainder of the satellite transitioned to surviving with the virus, Beijing maintained an eradication argumentation involving wide investigating and stringent lockdown.

In November, the vexation spilled connected to the streets successful uncommon protests against Mr Xi and his government. A week later, Beijing began to rotation backmost the restrictions.