Finland to impose restrictions for Chinese tourists if EU makes no decision: Minister

Helsinki, Jan 4 (Agency) Finland will impose restrictions for Chinese tourists due to the COVID-19 situation in China if no measures are proposed at the European level, Finnish Minister for Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru said. Earlier, European Commission spokesman Tim McPhie said at a briefing that the EU Health Security Committee would meet on Wednesday to discuss a coordinated EU response to the coronavirus situation in China. “We need to think about how we can contribute to protecting people’s health if the EU is unable to do so,” Kiuru said in a comment to MTV3, stressing that in her view, the EU will decide on Wednesday about COVID-19 testing for Chinese citizens.

I believe that tomorrow decisions can be made at the EU level. Many countries have already taken these measures,” she said. France, Italy and Spain started testing last week. Germany and Sweden are waiting for a coordinated EU response, the Finnish press said. As of now, Finnish carrier Finnair and China’s Juneyao Airlines operate direct regular flights between Finland and China’s Shanghai.