‘Surveillance programme’ begins random COVID tests for travelers from mainland China to the UK | UK News

[ad_1]

Random passengers on direct flights from China to the UK will be tested for COVID-19 in a new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) surveillance programme, which starts today.

Concern is growing that COVID is overwhelming China’s health system as the virus continues to spread through a large population that possesses little immunity thanks to the government’s now-repealed Zero-COVID policy, which relied on isolation rather than vaccination.

There are also concerns about the accuracy of the country’s data on the outbreak.

The currently low numbers of travelers from China are expected to increase from today, as the requirement to quarantine on return to China has been removed, so new monitoring will begin.

Since January 5, people traveling from mainland China have been required to take a COVID-19 test before departure.

But the UKHSA said its new program would also see “a sample of passengers arriving in England from mainland China tested for COVID-19 on arrival”.

Read more: Patients build outside entrances as hospitals in China grapple with rising COVID infections

Please use the Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player

3:10 COVID tests for Chinese travelers

The agency said passengers at Heathrow would be invited to take part in the study and all positive samples would be sent for sequencing.

“This will enhance the UK’s ability to identify any new variants that may be circulating in China that could evade the immune response of those already vaccinated, or that have the potential to successfully outcompete other variants and spread internationally,” the agency said in a statement.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, said that as China reopened its borders, “it was appropriate for us to take a precautionary and balanced approach by announcing these temporary measures while we assess the data”.

He added, “This allows our world-leading scientists at the UK’s Health Security Agency to quickly gain insight into potential new variants circulating in China.”

The end of Zero-COVID rules at the beginning of December unleashed the virus in China, which is home to 1.4 billion people.

Residents have little immunity after being protected since the emergence of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

Many funeral homes and hospitals say they are overwhelmed, while international health experts have warned of at least one million deaths in China this year.

[ad_2]