China has announced it is abandoning its zero-Covid policy and prepares to reopen its international borders in January. But there are fears the end of measures could result in new variants of the disease spreading worldwide. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could introduce new travel restrictions, but do you think the UK should impose stricter Covid restrictions on travellers from China? Vote in our poll.
The US, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have all imposed new regulations to control the spread of the disease, and the UK could follow suit and introduce mandatory testing. A Government spokesperson told The Independent, on Thursday, December 29: “There are no plans to re-introduce COVID-19 testing or additional requirements for arrivals into the UK.”
The UK Health Security Agency will continue to monitor the prevalence and spread of variants. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the travel rules from China to the UK are “under review” during an interview with Sky News on Thursday. But Government sources have questioned this claim.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak likely to bring in new Covid travel curbs
Health Minister Will Quince said people “will be concerned by the news coming out of China” but explained: “The key thing to look out for is a new variant, and there is no evidence of a new variant that is not already prevalent in the UK – but we are keeping the situation under review.” He said Health Secretary Steve Barclay has met with the head of the UK Health Security Agency, Dame Jenny Harries, and the chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty to discuss the situation. Meanwhile, the European Union’s Health Security Committee has called for joint measures to be introduced across the bloc.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency and a campaigner against Covid restrictions, said: “I think it’s inevitable that the UK will follow the move by several other countries to put greater restrictions on those flying from China. There is a huge gap in knowledge about the impact of Covid in China and ministers won’t want to risk not doing anything to monitor the flow of Covid into the UK from China. It is relatively easy for the UK government to ask airlines to insist on negative Covid tests at the point of departure from a specific country.”
He added: “Ministers have learned to share much more health information with other countries since the onset of Covid, and you can’t have Italy and the US doing one thing while the UK rests on its laurels. So I’d expect changes by this time next week, just before China removes its own restrictions on January 8.”
So what do YOU think? Should the UK impose stricter Covid restrictions on travellers from China? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
