Border closures, pre-travel tests of little use against COVID-19 spread - EU agency

[snoop1130]

Border closures, pre-travel tests of little use against COVID-19 spread - EU agency

 

FILE PHOTO: A lorry traffic jam is seen near the German-Polish border in Frankfurt/Oder during the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Germany, March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Border closures do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the European Union’s public health agency said, as EU states weigh lifting some travel restrictions imposed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

 

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said measures such as testing travellers before departure or temperature screening on arrival are also largely ineffective, though it confirmed that travelling facilitates the spread of the virus.

 

The ECDC said in a report released late on Tuesday that border closures had very negative effects on the economy and were effective only in delaying an epidemic at its beginning and in isolated regions.

 

“Available evidence does not support recommending border closures, which will cause significant secondary effects and societal and economic disruption in the EU,” which normally operates open borders among member states, the agency said.

 

The European Commission, the EU executive arm, recommended in April an easing of travel restrictions first between areas of low contagion, encouraging some governments to reopen borders selectively with countries they deemed safer.

 

But the ECDC report said epidemiological data may not be reliable since European countries do not use a common approach to testing and case reporting, making it impossible to compare the spread of the epidemic.

 

The agency also said that forcing people to undergo a test before travelling may only be of limited value as the traveller may become infectious just before departure or during travel due to the virus’ two-week incubation period.

 

As for screening temperatures on arrival, it said, travellers may already be infectious but without a fever.

 

Questionnaires filled by travellers on their health conditions could offer additional useful information but present data protection risks, the ECDC said, reiterating that immunity certificates issued after antibody tests were not reliable.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-27

 

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[YetAnother]

7 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said measures such as testing travellers before departure or temperature screening on arrival are also largely ineffective, though it confirmed that travelling facilitates the spread of the virus.

ok; but unlike thailand, those member states are not Ruled by prehistoric , shallow, intellectually-challenged ,old generals , as thailand is

[mauGR1]

I can't believe that i'm hearing some common sense for the first time since 3 months ????

[mr mr]

well this doesn't fit the narrative of the last couple months. ooops. 

[david555]

15 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I can't believe that i'm hearing some common sense for the first time since 3 months ????

It is more related to economic sense than common sense  only ????

[zeamonkey]

Fake news, we must have 6 months more of emergency decree to show you that the real, intelligent world are wrong. Get on your knees slaves!

[Dumbastheycome]

So  another manipulation of the content of another report !

There is  one sentence that  discloses  the truth .

"The agency also said that forcing people to undergo a test before travelling may only be of limited value as the traveller may become infectious just before departure or during travel due to the virus’ two-week incubation period."

This has been confirmed by the number of returnees to Thailand who eventually are identified as  positive.

Proper quarantine of all returnees would  identify the positives  without  the pointless  requirement of pre-travel tests which are only  valid (perhaps) on the  day/hour purchased !

As so many reports do it contains a disclaimer to excuse the obvious bias of concerns.

Economics.

"The ECDC said in a report released late on Tuesday that border closures had very negative effects on the economy and were effective only in delaying an epidemic at its beginning and in isolated regions. "

Both aspects  are valid to  a degree.

The original objectives of "Mitigation" was and is to  delay the social health impact. 

"The ECDC said in a report released late on Tuesday that border closures had very negative effects on the economy and were effective only in delaying an epidemic at its beginning and in isolated regions."

Economic impact  undeniable.

Isolated  regions? Or is that  just a dismissal  of  economically irrelevant regions?

My personal analogy for what has happened is a story involving a donkey pulling a cart.

The donkey is  the world economy.

The cart contains the populations convinced they are on a journey to some wonderful destination and it does not  matter who the ones on top are  sitting or standing on the others  in the bottom of an aged and creaky  cart because they have either forgotten or  never realized who actually owns  both the donkey and the  cart !

And the owner/s don't really  care too much  if  the passengers survive or  not because the next generation of  owners who inherit are confident a new  generation of oblivious  passengers  will climb aboard the  next time the  same old  donkey and  cart comes  around. The saddest  aspect  is  that those  passengers live  in the  belief they  have some control of the donkey because they paid  for a ticket  to  get in  the 

cart.

Woe  betide  any who would be  presumptuous enough to  provide an alternative  donkey and  cart !  Oh  ho!

 

 

 

 

 

[baansgr]

51 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I can't believe that i'm hearing some common sense for the first time since 3 months ????

So it's no coincidence that countries with no restrictions have tens of thousands of deaths but those that instigated strict border controls are barely even in the hundreds...hhmmm, common sense for sure

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, baansgr said:

So it's no coincidence that countries with no restrictions have tens of thousands of deaths but those that instigated strict border controls are barely even in the hundreds...hhmmm, common sense for sure

Don't worry too much, if you are scared you can stay at home forever, guess nobody's missing you.

Pls forgive the sarcasm, nothing personal.

[CLS]

Unlike Thailand Schengen countries closed its borders only for tourists. Family members of Schengen nationals were allowed in at any time. Family reunification is a basic human right.

 

Only third world banana republics like Thailand don’t respect human rights.