Border closures & pre-travel tests are ‘of little use’ against Covid-19 spread, EU health agency says

The European Union’s public health agency has said border closures do little to prevent the spread of Covid-19, as the bloc’s states consider lifting some travel restrictions.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) believes measures such as testing travelers before departure or temperature screening on arrival are also largely ineffective.

The ECDC said in a report released late on Tuesday that border closures had very negative effects on the economy and were effective only in delaying an epidemic at its beginning and in isolated regions.

The report also said epidemiological data may not be reliable since European countries do not use a common approach to testing and case reporting, making it impossible to compare the spread of the epidemic.