The government moved immediately on
the new COVID-19 situation mandating tests for arrivals from
China, and the situation is now under control, Premier Giorgia
Meloni told her end-of-year press conference Thursday.
However, she called for a decision on testing China arrivals to
be "swiftly taken" also at the EU level.
While the situation was currently under control, the premier
said, tests and masks were still "useful".
She said that of the first tests at Italian airports, "15 were
of the Omicron variant, already present in Italy, and that
should be quite comforting".
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 is 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".
Bignami stressed "we don't want to repeat the mistakes of the
past".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
