JAKARTA - The European Union should consider immediately increasing genome sequencing of COVID-19 infections and monitoring wastewater, including from airports, to detect new variants given the spike in the virus in China, the bloc's health chief said.
In a letter to the health minister of 27 EU members, Stella Kyriakides said the bloc should be "very vigilant" as China lifted travel restrictions on January 8, while epidemiological data and reliable testing to hit the rare enough.
Kyriakides advised ministers in the letter, reviewed by Reuters, to assess their current practice of sequencing the genome of the coronavirus "as an immediate step".
If sorting has been reduced, the country may want to consider rescaling it, he wrote, adding that it is important to continue or start surveillance of wastewater, including waste from the main airport.
If a new variant appears, the block needs to detect it early in order to react quickly, the commissioner wrote.
The commissioner's letter, dated December 29, attended an online meeting of more than 100 representatives from EU members, EU health agencies and the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss how to deal with outbreaks in China.
Health experts are expected to hold a crisis response meeting next week, according to EU sources.
Previously, Italy had urged the entire European Union to follow in its footsteps and test travelers from China. However, most EU members say they don't need to.
Kyriakides said some EU members had proposed measures such as random testing of travelers.
Spain said on Friday it would join other countries setting new restrictions, requiring travelers from China to carry out negative tests or suggesting they had been fully vaccinated.
Separately, the European Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said it currently does not recommend action against travelers from China.
It said the variant circulating in China already exists in the European Union, with EU citizens having relatively high vaccination rates and a low potential for import infection compared to the daily number of infections in the European Union, with the health care system currently tackling it.
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