Reuters Health News Summary

Starting on Jan. 5, Chinese travellers will need to show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than two days prior to departure, UK's Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement. WHO urges China to share specific data regularly on COVID situation The World Health Organization on Friday once again urged China's health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID-19 situation in the country, as it continues to assess the latest surge in infections.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Xi says COVID control is entering new phase as cases surge after reopening

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for more effort and unity as the country enters a "new phase" in its approach to combating the pandemic, in his first comments to the public on COVID-19 since his government changed course three weeks ago and relaxed its rigorous policy of lockdowns and mass testing. China's abrupt switch earlier this month from the "zero-COVID" policy that it had maintained for nearly three years has led to infections sweeping across the country unchecked. It has also caused a further drop in economic activity and international concern, with Britain and France becoming the latest countries to impose curbs on travellers from China.

Asia rings in the New Year as the world starts ushering out 2022

Australia celebrated its first restriction-free New Year's Eve after two years of COVID disruptions, as the world began bidding farewell to a year marked for many by the war in Ukraine, economic stresses and the effects of global warming. Revellers celebrated across Asia from China to the Philippines to Thailand.

France to impose mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China

France will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID-19 test result less than 48 hours before departure, the health and transport ministries said on Friday. The test will be required on all flights from China, including flights with stopovers. Travellers on airplanes arriving from China will also have to wear masks.

UK to require COVID negative tests for arrivals from China

The UK said on Friday that passengers arriving in Britain from China will require a negative COVID-19 test after a surge in infections in China. Starting on Jan. 5, Chinese travellers will need to show a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than two days prior to departure, UK's Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement.

WHO urges China to share specific data regularly on COVID situation

The World Health Organization on Friday once again urged China's health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID-19 situation in the country, as it continues to assess the latest surge in infections. The agency has asked Chinese officials to share more genetic sequencing data, as well as data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.

Pandemic curbs linked to early start to Europe's winter flu season

Pandemic restrictions that hampered the circulation of viruses other than COVID-19 could be behind the unseasonably early upsurge in respiratory infections in Europe this winter that the festive break could prolong, scientists say. Apart from COVID-19, regulations to curb movement and social interaction limited the transmission of viruses that typically cause most infections during the colder, winter months, including influenza and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

Exclusive-Drugmakers to raise prices on at least 350 drugs in U.S. in January

Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Bristol Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca PLC and Sanofi SA plan to raise prices in the United States on more than 350 unique drugs in early January, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. The increases are expected to come as the pharmaceutical industry prepares for the Biden Administration's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which allows the government's Medicare health program to negotiate prices directly for some drugs starting in 2026. The industry is also contending with inflation and supply chain constraints that have led to higher manufacturing costs.

India monitoring pharma exports to China amid COVID surge - source

India's Ministry of Commerce has been asked to monitor exports of medicinal products and equipment to China to ensure domestic availability for any COVID-19 surges, according to a source familiar with the matter. India's Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, asked pharma companies and senior government officials to review availability of medicines, and monitor their stocks and prices in a meeting on Thursday, the source told Reuters.

EU urges more checks for COVID variants given surge in China

The European Union should consider immediately scaling up genomic sequencing of COVID-19 infections and monitoring of waste water, including from airports, to detect any new variants given the virus surge in China, the bloc's health chief said. In a letter to health ministers of the EU's 27 members, Stella Kyriakides said the bloc should be "very vigilant" as China lifted travel restrictions on Jan. 8 as reliable epidemiological and testing data for China were quite scarce.

Philippines to tighten COVID monitoring for travellers from China

The Philippines sees a need to intensify the monitoring and implementation of border control for incoming individuals especially from China that is experiencing a record surge in COVID-19 cases, Manila’s health ministry said on Saturday. In an “extremely urgent” memo, the health ministry ordered all ports of entry to heighten surveillance on all respiratory symptoms in all travellers from China, and report intercepted symptomatic passengers.