BRUSSELS — EU countries have agreed to phase out COVID-19 restrictions on travellers from China that were put in place to guard against possible new coronavirus variants after China's reopening prompted a surge in infections there.
Health experts from the 27 EU members agreed at a meeting on Thursday that they would end the requirement for negative pre-departure COVID-19 tests by the end of February, the Swedish presidency of the EU said.
They would also stop random testing of travellers from China by the middle of March.
- COVID-19 Brief newsletter: Sign up for an informed guide on the pandemic
The moves were also agreed by non-EU members of the Schengen free travel zone - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The countries agreed on the pre-arrival tests and post-arrival random checks on Jan. 4, ahead of China's easing of its travel restrictions on Jan. 8, one of the last vestiges of the world's strictest regime of COVID-19 restrictions.
The measures served only as a recommendations for EU members. Some countries, such as France and Italy, imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests and virus sequencing for passengers coming from China, although Italy loosened its controls at the end of January.
