EASA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention (ECDC) published (02-Dec-2020) new guidelines for COVID-19 testing and the quarantine of air travellers. Details include:
- People travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic should not automatically be considered as high-risk for spreading infection, but should rather be treated in the same way as members of the local population who have not had any direct contact to a person with a confirmed positive case of COVID-19;
- The document's conclusions reflect the fact that the prevalence of the virus among travellers is estimated to be lower than in the general population. In addition, the measures in place in aviation minimise the possibility of transmission during the air travel process;
- The recommendations are addressed primarily to decision makers at national levels and aim to promote a coordinated approach to decision-making on the pandemic. EASA and ECDC state that the virus is "now well established in all EU and European economic areas and the UK" as well as in "most other geographical zones worldwide" and that this must be taken into account when considering policy on travel restrictions;
- The guidelines argue that testing and quarantine have only a limited impact on reducing the risk of spread of COVID-19, particularly with respect to travel between areas of similar risk or when moving from less risky 'green' areas to 'orange' or 'red' areas with greater prevalence of the disease. They also indicate that routine testing of passengers in such cases could have a negative impact by diverting resources from more urgent needs such as contact tracing and testing of those who had direct contact with infected cases.
ECDC director Andrea Ammon stated that member states "should not focus on screening travellers" since "imported cases are likely to contribute little to the ongoing spread of the virus" due to the prevalence of COVID-19 in Europe. Instead, the ECDC advised member states to focus on building robust testing capacities for suspected cases, coupled with the isolation of people who test positive, as well as contact tracing and quarantine of contacts in the community. It also "strongly" urged the advance provision of travellers with information about COVID-19, the epidemiological situation in the destination countries and the measures in place at airports and onboard aircraft to prevent transmission. It suggested a simplified procedure for obtaining contact information through passenger locator forms, preferably in digital format, and sharing this between authorities as required. [more - original PR]