IATA has charged nations with engaging in political games by imposing COVID testing requirements on travelers departing from China.
Its director general, Willie Walsh, referred to the judgments as “very disappointing” and claimed that the guidelines wouldn’t work to reduce infections. Following China’s announcement that it will essentially open its borders after three years, nations including the US, UK, Italy, and Australia requested that passengers arriving from China take a negative test before boarding the aircraft.
Many epidemiologists claim the guidelines wouldn’t make much of a difference now that the virus is rife around the world, making the choice controversial.
Barriers in the route of transit have no impact on the peak spread of illnesses, according to research conducted surrounding the introduction of the Omicron variety, Walsh said.
“Restrictions at most brought that apex back a few days. It would be expected that the same thing would happen if a new variety appeared anywhere in the world.
“As a result, countries should heed the recommendations of experts, such as the WHO, who advise against imposing travel restrictions.
“We have the resources to control COVID-19 without turning to useless countermeasures that disrupt global trade, harm economies, and eliminate employment.
Governments must rely more on “science facts” than “science politics” when making choices.
The International Air Transport Association is a trade group for all airlines in the globe. It was established in 1945, and its current CEO formerly served as the CEO of both British Airways and Aer Lingus.
Following Proposed Zealand’s rejection of the new regulations and the revelation that Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, was vehemently opposed to them because they were “disproportionate to danger,” Walsh made his intervention.
On January 8, China is scheduled to abolish quarantine, and on January 5, the testing amendments will take effect.
The management of the new limits was still under scrutiny by the federal opposition on Wednesday, with Nationals leader David Littleproud calling for Health Minister Mark Butler to “come out of hiding.”
Similar charges against the federal government’s “lack of a plan” and “creating it up as they go along” were made by opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Despite the criticism, Treasurer Jim Chalmers had previously justified the shift in policy and made hints that it had been influenced by similar actions taken by other nations.
According to Dr. Chalmers, who spoke to Sky News, “It is not an exceptionally onerous condition that people have a negative test when they come here from that part of the world.”
“We collaborate closely with the chief medical officers. We value their counsel. Of course, one of the things they’ve been making is that we need to improve our surveillance of foreign visitors. The data coming out of China carries a certain amount of ambiguity.
For all of those reasons, we have made this choice out of a high degree of caution that is commensurate with what is occurring in other nations with which we are compared.
The new regulations will not apply to travelers in transit, including those who stopover in Hong Kong, Macau, or even mainland China. If a RAT test is used in place of a PCR test, a medical professional must monitor the tests.
