Italy on Thursday became the first
European country to officially start testing for COVID-19 among
people arriving from China after Beijing's announcement it was
set to open its borders as new variants of the coronavirus surge
in the Asian country.
One in two passengers arriving at Milan's Malpensa Airport are
said to be positive for the virus, while testing started early
Thursday at Rome's Fiumicino Airport too.
There is global concern over new variants possibly spreading
from China and several nearby countries have also started
testing for COVID-19.
Italy's premier infectious disease hospital, the Spallanzani
Institute in Rome, on Thursday warned about the risks pose by
new variants, with attention directed at a subvariant called
Gryphon.
Health Minister Orazio Schillaci i set to report to the Senate
on Thursday afternoon, after the deputy minister with the brief
for air transport, Galeazzo Bignami, said that "surveillance
measures have been activated at air hubs, but EU action is
needed for a more rapid response".
He added: "The Italian government would like quarantine for all
(those who test positive), we are asking our European partners
for this and we'll see if it's possible, because there are
various sensibilities".
He stressed "we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past".
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