WHO backs travel checks from US given spread of latest Omicron variant
WHO advisers say it may be too early to declare the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency phase because of high levels of infections in China.
Passengers should be recommended to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, according to WHO official.
Given the rapid spread of the latest offshoot of the Omicron variant - XBB.1.5 - in the United States, WHO Regional Office for Europe officials have recommended travel measures be implemented in a "non-discriminatory" manner.
That is not to say that "we recommend testing of patient of passengers coming from the US at this stage. Countries need to look at the evidence base for pre-departure testing", WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told a news briefing on Tuesday.
Passengers should be recommended to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, she added, "this should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread Covid-19 transmission".
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