China makes Covid-19 negative test certificate mandatory for all foreigners to carry

Beijing: As per the Chinese official guideline issued on Tuesday, now all foreigners and Chinese nationals should carry the negative COVID-19 test certificate before entering China, official announcement came here on Tuesday.

The certificate should be no older than five days at the time of boarding a flight, said the announcement made by China’s Civil Aviation Administration, General Administration of Customs, and China’s Foreign Ministry. China has permitted international flights from certain countries but not from India yet after halting them at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, European Union leaders agreed on a landmark stimulus package that will see the bloc issue 750 billion euros ($860 billion) of joint debt to help member states mitigate the economic downturn.

The agreement, signed in the early hours of Tuesday after more than four days of acrimonious negotiations in Brussels, required the unanimous approval of all 27 member states and represents a victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who drafted an early outline for the proposal in May. The emergency fund will give out 390 billion euros of grants and 360 billion euros of low-interest loans.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the deal was “truly historic” and that he was convinced the recovery plan and budget could meet the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. “With this recovery plan, we will reach a near doubling of the European budget over the next three years,” he added.