Amid concerns over soaring cases of Covid-19 in China, the UK is set to introduce a requirement for travellers from the country to produce a negative pre-departure test.
The move follows that of other countries that have also recently imposed travel restrictions on the Asian nation.
UK ministers had said the situation was being kept under review as Beijing announced plans to start reissuing passports and visas for overseas trips.
A number of countries, including the US, India, France, Spain, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan, have begun to require visitors from China to be tested for the virus after the lifting of restrictions caused a wave of infections.
Some Tory MPs had called for a more robust response from the government, even as the chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, Andrew Pollard, said the imposition of travel restrictions was unlikely to stop variants reaching the UK.
China covid latest — in pictures
“Trying to ban a virus by adjusting what we do with travel has already been shown not to work very well,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“We have seen that with the bans on travel from various countries during the pandemic.
“The important thing is that we have surveillance that, when a virus is spreading within our population here in the UK or Europe, we are able to pick that up and predict what might happen with the health systems and particularly the more vulnerable in the population.”
Covid protests in China — in pictures
Dr Pollard said that any new variant which did appear in China was likely to be best adapted to spreading in the Chinese population.
“The immunity in the [Chinese] population currently relates to vaccines that have been given in the population over the last couple of years and are different to the vaccines we have had and they have not had the extra immunity from having waves of Covid,” he said.
“So it is very difficult at this moment to tell whether a variant emerging in China is likely to have any impact here in the UK anyway.
“Testing people travelling from China probably doesn’t really answer the question about whether any new variant that is detected is going to be a problem here.”
Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will be felt for 'decades to come' — video
Health minister Will Quince said that the “key threat” was the potential for the emergence of new variants.
Tory MP David Davis suggested that mandatory testing for those coming from China was a “pretty sensible requirement”.
“If somebody turns up with the next virulent variant from China, we want to have processes in place — I think the government should certainly consider it and I would ideally implement it,” the former cabinet minister told LBC.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, called testing a “minimal effort”.
The Conservative MP told LBC: “Let’s get testing in place for passengers regardless of nationality of all incoming flights from China.
“Do we want to take a risk after all that we’ve been through in this pandemic?”
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
