Germany, Sweden to require negative COVID-19 test for China arrivals

BERLIN/STOCKHOLM — Germany and Sweden said Thursday they would ask arrivals from China for a negative coronavirus test as infections rose steeply following Beijing's abrupt decision to lift strict restrictions.

Germany would change its entry requirements at "short notice," following a recommendation by European Union experts to tighten travel rules, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in a statement, while Swedish Health Minister Jakob Forssmed told a separate press conference, "The Swedish government has this morning decided to impose temporary travel restrictions for trips from China." 

EU member states agreed Wednesday to recommend a "precautionary approach" amid fears that unmonitored arrivals from China could introduce a new variant or subvariant of the coronavirus in Europe capable of evading existing vaccines.

Italy and Spain had already imposed COVID-19 test requirements for arrivals from China, and from Thursday, France has also required passengers traveling from China to present a negative test result.

Lauterbach welcomed the EU's "common answer" to the rising number of cases in China.

Passengers arriving from China will be required to present "at least a rapid antigen test" to enter Germany, Lauterbach said, without giving a specific date.

Germany would also carry out "spot checks to identify virus variants" and "waste water tests" for journeys from China, he said.

Travel to Sweden

Travelers to Sweden from China, meanwhile, will be required to show a negative test result regardless of vaccination status but some, including Swedish citizens and residents of Sweden and of the European Union, will be exempted, Forssmed said.

The requirement will go into force from Saturday.

"The purpose of the requirement for a negative test is to delay the potential introduction of new virus variants," he said.

Sweden's Public Health Agency earlier this week asked the government to draw up the measure, citing "uncertainty" about which viral variants could be circulating in China. — Agence France-Presse