Portugal will request negative COVID-19 tests from passengers from China

7 Jan. () –

The Portuguese Ministry of Health has announced that all passengers from China must present a negative COVID-19 test upon boarding, thus joining other European countries that have already decided to strengthen border control with the Asian country.

The measure will come into force at 12:00 a.m. on Sunday and, starting this Saturday morning, passengers arriving in Portugal on this route “will be subject to random but mandatory tests,” according to the newspaper ‘Público’. .

The Health portfolio has also specified that the random test will be applied “to the passengers of the flight from China and that lands this Saturday” in Lisbon. At the same time, wastewater monitoring mechanisms will also be put into practice at the Humberto Delgado International Airport, in Lisbon and on planes coming from China, with a view to identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus and subsequent genomic sequencing.

The Portuguese government has been considering the introduction of this measure for several days, all while other Member States of the European Union such as Spain, Italy or France have already announced restrictions on travelers from China.

The explosion of COVID-19 cases in China, stemming from the removal of most of the restrictions imposed throughout the pandemic, has generated global concern, leading countries around the world to impose new controls on travelers from of the Asian giant.