Travellers queue at Geneva Airport on June 15, 2022 after Swiss airspace was closed after a computer glitch with the air traffic control system grounded flights at the country鈥檚 main airport. AFP FILE PHOTO
GENEVA 鈥� Switzerland said on Friday it was not planning to tighten entry restrictions on travelers from China despite a surge in Covid-19 cases following Beijing鈥檚 decision to drop its curbs on foreign travel.
Switzerland鈥檚 neighbors France and Italy require a negative Covid test for all visitors from mainland China,聽in a bid to avoid importing new variants from the Asian giant.
Israel, Spain and South Korea on Friday also joined the lengthening list of nations including India, Japan and the United States in imposing Covid tests on travelers from China.
鈥淚t is not currently necessary to provide proof of vaccination, recovery from Covid-19 or a (negative) test to enter Switzerland,鈥� a Swiss health ministry spokesman told AFP.
鈥淭here are no plans for the moment to introduce health measures at the border either,鈥� he said.
The European Union鈥檚 infectious disease agency (ECDC) said on Thursday it believed introducing mandatory Covid screenings for travelers from China was 鈥渦njustified鈥�.
Germany said it did not currently see the need to impose entry restrictions either, but argued for a coordinated EU-wide system to monitor variants at European airports.
Switzerland is not in the EU but is surrounded by nations who are members of the bloc and is in Europe鈥檚 Schengen open-borders zone. Bern plans to work with Brussels on any future moves.
鈥淪witzerland is working closely with the EU and European countries to manage the Covid-19 crisis and will continue to do so.
鈥淪witzerland will coordinate further action with its EU partners if need be,鈥� the health ministry spokesman said.
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