Europe Strengthens Quarantine for Arrivals from Jungguk... Germany Advises "Avoid Travel to Jungguk"

Portugal and the Netherlands Require COVID-19 Negative Test Results for Travelers from China
Germany Urges Its Citizens to Refrain from Traveling to China

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] As China announced a full relaxation of its quarantine regulations, European countries are on high alert and strengthening quarantine measures for arrivals from China. Some countries have even urged people to refrain from traveling to China.

According to major foreign media including AFP, Portugal has decided to require all passengers on flights from China to submit a negative COVID-19 test certificate before departure starting from the 7th (local time). The Dutch government also plans to implement the same measure from the 10th.

Authorities in Portugal and the Netherlands have also made mask-wearing mandatory on flights from China. This is a follow-up measure after the European Union (EU) strongly recommended all member states on the 4th to strengthen quarantine for arrivals from China.

Following France, Italy, and Spain, which took early entry restrictions, major countries including Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, and the Netherlands are rolling out similar measures one after another. Since the EU Commission will receive reports on each country's implementation plans at the Health and Safety Committee on the 11th, it is expected that all member states will prepare countermeasures.

Germany, which has already mandated pre-arrival testing for arrivals from China, has also urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to China. The German Foreign Ministry explained on Twitter that "We ask that unnecessary travel to China be avoided at this time" due to "the peak of COVID-19 infections and the overloaded health system in China."

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has decided to abolish quarantine for arrivals and PCR testing immediately after entry starting from the 8th. It also plans to gradually allow overseas travel for its citizens, which had been restricted since the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, countries including South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan are successively strengthening quarantine measures out of concern for a resurgence of COVID-19 through arrivals from China.