The Government of Ayuso and the Generalitat request that all travelers from China have to present a negative test
Madrid and Catalonia, the only two communities with direct flights from China, and two autonomies that in different phases of the pandemic have shown their belligerence against the decisions of the Government, described this Friday as “insufficient” the measures announced by the Ministry of Health.
Madrid was the first to raise its voice by demanding that a negative test be required at Spanish airports, regardless of whether the traveler provides a vaccination certificate. “We believe that it is a step to request certification or a negative test, but we understand that it is insufficient. This negative diagnostic test must be requested from all travelers, whether or not they have a vaccination certificate. The efficacy of the Chinese vaccine is relative, and very low, and it is not authorized by the European Medicines Agency, “said the Minister of Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero.
In fact, it went a step further by proposing that negative diagnostic tests be carried out in the country of origin, even if the passengers come from other stopovers and make connections with other flights. In other words, all travelers from China test negative when leaving on their direct flight or on a link before landing in Spain.
Almost point by point, the Generalitat of Catalonia coincided with the arguments of Madrid, which advocated carrying out rapid antigen tests on all people arriving from China, and that the vaccination schedule alone is not enough. The novelty, in this case, is that the Catalan Minister of Health, Manel Balcells, set a start date for this measure, January 9, a day that is marked in red on all calendars.
The day before, the 8th, the Xi Jinping regime will end the mandatory quarantines upon arrival in the country and will allow the Chinese to travel abroad (15 flights are scheduled to land in Madrid and Barcelona on Monday the 9th). And all this will happen just two weeks before the New Year of the Asian country, which is commemorated on January 22, when the Chinese will make more than 150 million trips, internal and international.
Ruiz Escudero, who has requested a meeting with Health, has also expressed his surprise at the fact that Darias has announced the new control measures for passengers from China before the meeting of the Public Health Commission, called urgently to this Friday and where experts from the Ministry and the autonomous communities participate.
“It is surprising that first the announcements are made at a press conference and then the experts are brought together, and that, furthermore, the Interterritorial Health Council is not called for such an important event, which has met on other occasions for much lesser issues”, Escudero has criticized.
Some criticism that comes after this morning the Government, in the words of Carolina Darias, announced that a negative covid-19 test or the certificate of having received full vaccination will be required at airports for all passengers traveling from China to Spain.
In this way, Spain is taking measures similar to those announced by countries such as Italy, the United States or China’s neighbors (Japan, India, Malaysia or Taiwan) in the face of the rebound in cases in the Asian power.
400 beds in the Zendal
The Madrid minister has also announced that, if necessary, the first 400 beds at the Isabel Zendal Nursing Public Hospital can be activated preventively in 12 hours, although they could activate up to 700.
“There are millions of cases in China and this virus mutates very easily. We have to be attentive and see how he behaves in the Community. Covid has never given us good news. We have to be prepared for any possible contingency”, the counselor has transferred.
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