Italy Begins Mandatory Coronavirus Testing For All China Arrivals After Half Of The Passengers On Two Flights Test Positive

Italy on Wednesday announced that it would immediately require all arrivals from China to go through mandatory covid-19 testing.

Roughly half of the passengers on two flights from China that had landed at Milan’s Malpensa airport tested positive for coronavirus.

Excerpt from the Local:

Health Minister Orazio Schillaci announced on Wednesday that he had ordered mandatory Covid tests for all passengers coming from China.

“The measure is essential to ensure the surveillance and identification of any variants of the virus in order to protect the Italian population,” he said.

The testing requirement was expected to come into force immediately on Wednesday, as several Italian airports had already begun screening arrivals from China.

Authorities at Malpensa said on Wednesday that almost one in two arrivals from China had tested positive for coronavirus, news agency Ansa reported.

Passengers who tested positive on arrival at Fiumicino were being isolated in “special facilities” on Wednesday, Ansa reported.

Conclusion

Everyone who tests positive on these flights must isolate for 5 to 14 days.

Not sure if Italy still has covid quarantine centers open where they could transport busloads from China arrivals who test positive.

How could you otherwise be sure that they follow the required isolation period?