Switzerland has no plans to test travellers from China for Covid-19

After tough virus curbs were abruptly lifted in December, China is now battling a surge of infections. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Unlike the United States and several European countries, Switzerland says travellers from China entering the country will not be required to undergo compulsory testing for Covid-19.

Following its meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Council announcedExternal link that the current pandemic situation “does not presently warrant” compulsory Covid-19 testing for travellers from China.

“People in Switzerland currently have strong protection against developing severe Covid-19,” the government said. “Many of them have already been vaccinated or have already been infected and recovered. In view of this, the present infection trends in China are not expected to pose an increased risk to the Swiss population or the Swiss health system.”

According to the latest findings, the variants of the coronavirus currently circulating in China are Omicron variants which are already extensively circulating in Switzerland or are already on the decline, it said.

“The circulation of Covid-19 in Switzerland is currently so high that compulsorily testing the relatively small number of persons arriving in the country from China directly by air would have minimal impact on the virus’s current spread,” it said. “The risk of new virus variants of concern developing is also no higher in China than elsewhere.”

Around 97% of the Swiss population (8.7 million) have developed antibodies against the virus via vaccination or infection. Currently, the number of new Covid-19 infections continues to fall in Switzerland, as does the number of people being tested.  

Worries about China’s Covid outbreak

Worries over the scale and impact of the outbreak in China, where the virus is spreading unchecked, have so far prompted more than a dozen countries – including the United States, Australia and some European countries – to demand pre-departure negative Covid test results from visitors from China. China has rejected criticism of its Covid data.

European Union government officials recommended on Wednesday that passengers flying from China to the EU should have a negative Covid-19 test before they board. They also suggested all passengers on flights to and from China should wear face masks, that EU governments introduce random testing of passengers arriving from China and that they test and sequence wastewater in airports with international flights and planes arriving from China.

The United States imposed mandatory Covid-19 tests on travellers from China on January 5. All air passengers aged two and older will require a negative result from a test no more than two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said US citizens should reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Meanwhile, the director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Tuesday that the agency sees “no immediate threat” for the European region from a Covid-19 outbreak in China, but more information is needed. 

The Swiss government says it is closely monitoring the spread of the virus in Switzerland. Actions include the monitoring of wastewater facilities, which also covers airport regions and key tourist areas, the mandatory reporting system (tests, case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths), the Sentinella reporting system and the tracking of virus variants by sequencing wastewater samples and cases of hospitalisation. Switzerland is also clarifying whether the wastewater from all flights arriving directly from China should be checked for new virus variants.

In Switzerland, the number of newly reported coronavirus infections and hospital admissions started rising again in September 2022 before declining in December.  The number of new lab-confirmed cases has fallen sharply since the new year as the federal authorities no longer cover the costs of tests.

Following this decision the Federal Office of Public Health says it expects to see a “corresponding reduction in the volumes of tests conducted and increases in the estimated numbers of unrecorded cases”.