(Yicai Global) Feb. 20 -- A number of European countries have said they will relax Covid-19 travel restrictions on visitors from China.

Sweden and France have not required people arriving from China to show negative Covid-19 test results or fill in health declaration forms since Feb. 18 and Feb. 16, respectively, their governments said on Feb. 16.

Italy also ended the requirement that arrivals from China take a polymerase chain reaction test, but began random testing on Feb. 1 instead, according to its health ministry. Passengers must still show a negative test result taken within 48 hours prior to boarding. At the end of last December, Italy was the first European country to impose restrictions on people traveling from the Asian country.

The European Union’s 27 member states have agreed to phase out Covid-19 test requirements for travelers from China. “In light of the recent epidemiological developments and taking into account the opinion of the Health Security Committee, Member States agree to phase out the requirement for a negative pre-departure Covid-19 test for travelers from China to Member States by the end of February,” the Swedish presidency of the EU Council said in a statement on Feb. 16.

Member States will also gradually remove random testing of passengers arriving from China by the middle of next month, it added.

Over 3,000 PCR tests were conducted in Rome on travelers from China as of the end of January, with only 47 showing positive results, Italian media reported. No new variants were detected.

On Jan. 4, the EU recommended that member states start to require people arriving from China to provide a negative Covid-19 test result taken within 48 hours before boarding, with several countries implementing the rule soon after.

Global restrictions on travelers from China are gradually lifting, and the number of passengers to and from the country increased to 676,000 on Feb. 6, a record high since the Covid-19 outbreak, the National Immigration Administration announced on Feb. 7.

Editor: Martin Kadiev