Spain will require negative tests or a vaccination certificate from travelers from China due to Covid-19

Spain will restore covid “controls” to passengers from China due to the sharp increase in cases in this country, asking them for a negative test or a vaccination certificate, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, announced this Friday.

“We are going to implement controls at our airports requiring passengers coming from China to have a negative test against COVID or a full vaccination schedule,” Darias announced at a press conference.

Darias said that “the main focus of concern is (…) the possibility that new uncontrolled variants may appear in China.”

The Madrid announcement comes the day after the European Union (EU) health agency, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), considered it “unjustified” to impose systematic anticovid tests on travelers from China .

Also, an informal meeting called by the European Commission – aimed at “a coordinated approach” of the Member States – ended without any decision.

In this way, Spain becomes the second EU country, after Italy, to restore controls for passengers from China. So did the United States, Japan, India, Malaysia or Taiwan.

“Given the health situation in that country, we know the importance of acting with coordination, but also the importance of acting quickly,” Darias justified himself in taking these measures without waiting for a European decision.

In any case, Spain will advocate for these measures to be implemented at the European level, added the minister, because that would be “the best guarantee of security for all.”