Covid alarm, epidemiologists: “Mandatory screening for arrivals from China”. They have already started in Malpensa. And America is pressing

The easing of anti-restrictions risks becoming a global disaster Covid The shutdown in China and quarantine will take effect on January 8, just days before the Chinese New Year, the most important holiday of the year, when millions of people travel again to reunite with family and friends within the country. or out of bounds after a cessation of three years. Half an hour after the announcement, travel sites were ransacked, with a very high risk of new variants with a definite possibility of causing a new wave of Covid in other parts of the world. there Lombardy It is the first region in Italy to require molecular swabs for travelers from China, even though the region has repeatedly indicated that it is not mandatory to do so.

A preventive measure is to understand the type of variation

A banner on the airport’s website informs travelers of the new arrangement, valid until January 30, with a reference to the “Viaggiare safe” website, “Lombardy Region Ats Insubria has given signs, a reference to Malpensa Airport. , all passengers/operators from China for Covid-19 should undergo molecular screening swab”. It’s a preventive measure – currently not mandatory – that also helps identify the type of Covid variant of people arriving from Asian countries. 90 swaps were done yesterday, 120 today and tomorrow we will get the first results of the sorting.

China warns of surge in cases

In China explosion It has been difficult to measure the number of infections and deaths since early December, when strict anti-Covid control measures were lifted after citizen protests, halting the dissemination of data after authorities decided days earlier. But the numbers in circulation are alarming. According to British research firm Airfinity, there are currently more than a million new cases and at least 5,000 deaths per day. And the situation is likely to get worse. Models created by Airfinity suggest 1.3 million to 2.1 million deaths as a result of the current wave of Covid in China. The agency estimates that 3.7 million infections per day in mid-January will reach 4.2 million daily cases in March.

Duty in Japan and India

The virus travels on people’s feet, virologists from around the world have frantically repeated in the pandemic’s darkest months marked by lockdowns. Now, with the suspension of mass testing and the liberalization of the movement of Chinese, the consequences will appear worry. Yesterday, half an hour after the National Health Commission announced it was reopening to travel, data from travel site Ctrip showed a 10-fold increase in searches for cross-border destinations: the most popular Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand And South Korea. Data from another site, Qunar, showed that searches for international flights increased sevenfold 15 minutes after the news broke. Japan today announced a defense strategy. By decision of the Principal Fumio Kishida, starting Friday, travelers from China will be forced to undergo a swap, and those who test positive will undergo a 7-day quarantine. Tokyo is also considering limiting the number of flights from China, Hong Kong and Macau. India, for its part, had already decided that people coming from China and other countries would have to show a negative test.

The US is considering cracking down on travelers from China

The US is also considering cracking down on travelers from China. According to rumors reported by Bloomberg, the US may impose measures similar to those decided by Japan and Malaysia. One thinks of a negative test or a request for monitoring and surveillance measures. What worries Washington is not just the rise in cases, but Beijing’s lack of transparency in its data on infections.

EU: “If necessary, we will re-enforce restrictions”

The European Union, on the other hand, took no action. However, the spokesperson cautioned brokerage, “Emergency brake maintained, which can be activated to re-introduce controls if necessary”. He entered the field in Italy Matthew Bassetti, director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the San Martino Hospital in Genoa, said a “ban” should be asked because “what we are at risk of today is much worse than what happened in Wuhan”. According to Bassetti, “on all flights from China we have to have tests, travel restrictions, molecular wipes for passengers 24 hours before departure or quarantine with a molecular test to get out, otherwise the arrivals should not come around”, the measures should be taken across Europe for at least six months. The Information The worst of all are the ones prompted by Bassetti: “Encrypted emails from Chinese sources report frightening numbers, namely 325 million Chinese infected in 20 days, about 10,000 deaths per day and at least 29 types of Omicron, some of which get into them. Avoid vaccination at all”.

Ciccozzi: “Molecular and Quarantine Pending Decision for Chinese Travelers”

“China’s lack of data on Covid is unscientific and incomprehensible, but the silence of the World Health Organization (WHO) on this exam is serious. They don’t want to know what is really going on”. In the face of this behavior “it is necessary to introduce tampons in Italy molecule For those coming from China, especially in view of the Chinese New Year”. Massimo Ciccio, Professor of Epidemiology and Clinical Statistics at the University of Rome Campus Biomedico. The Beijing authorities, the epidemiologist points out, “made one mistake after another: first a tight lockdown with zero infectious virus. Then, after protests, they indiscriminately opened and removed the tests, as no other country did.”. The only answer, he concludes, “is to introduce the obligation to wipe on arrival in Italy. However, one test is not enough, it gives a false negative of 30%. We need a molecular wipe that is isolated until the result”.