Italy wants EU to follow its lead on mandatory COVID tests for China arrivals

Italy "expects and hopes" that the European Union will follow its lead on imposing mandatory COVID tests for all passengers flying in from China, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.

In a press conference, Meloni said Italy's measures risked not being effective if not extended across the EU, and indicated that preliminary tests show that COVID-positive travellers from China had already known Omicron variants.