Health News Roundup: EU offers free COVID vaccines to China to help curb outbreak- FT; Malawi delays reopening schools as cholera cases surge and more

China's abrupt U-turn on COVID controls on Dec. 7, as well as the accuracy of its case and mortality data, have come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad. South Korea to require COVID tests for Hong Kong, Macau travellers South Korea's health authorities said on Tuesday it will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from Hong Kong and Macau, after Beijing's decision to lift stringent zero-COVID policies.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

EU offers free COVID vaccines to China to help curb outbreak- FT

The European Union has offered free COVID-19 vaccines to China to help Beijing contain a mass outbreak of the illness, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The initiative is part of efforts by health commissioner Stella Kyriakides to arrange a European response to the prospect of a wave of infections after Beijing ditched its so-called "zero Covid" policy, the report added, citing EU commission officials, speaking under the condition of anonymity.

Malawi delays reopening schools as cholera cases surge

Malawi has delayed the opening of public schools in the southern African country's two major cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe, the health minister said Monday, to try to slow down a surge in cholera deaths. The total number of cases and deaths has accelerated to 17,824 and 595 respectively since cases were first reported in March, with the mortality rate increasing to 3.34 per cent, according to the Health Ministry.

China media plays down COVID severity as WHO seeks detail on variants

State media in China played down the severity of a surge of COVID-19 infections ahead of an expected briefing on Tuesday by its scientists to the World Health Organization, which is hoping for a "detailed discussion" on the evolution of the virus. China's abrupt U-turn on COVID controls on Dec. 7, as well as the accuracy of its case and mortality data, have come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad.

South Korea to require COVID tests for Hong Kong, Macau travellers

South Korea's health authorities said on Tuesday it will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from Hong Kong and Macau, after Beijing's decision to lift stringent zero-COVID policies. Effective Jan. 7, travellers from Hong Kong and Macau would be required to submit a negative result from a PCR test, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

France urges EU peers to test Chinese travellers for COVID

France on Sunday urged European Union peers to test Chinese travellers for COVID after Paris decided to do so amid an outbreak sweeping the country. Only Italy and Spain also require tests in the 27-nation, largely border-free EU and health officials from across the bloc failed last week to agree on a joint course.

WHO urges China to share specific data regularly on COVID situation

The World Health Organization on Friday once again urged China's health officials to regularly share specific and real-time information on the COVID-19 situation in the country, as it continues to assess the latest surge in infections. The agency has asked Chinese officials to share more genetic sequencing data, as well as data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.

Factbox-Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers, EU to discuss

Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases there surge following its relaxation of "zero-COVID" rules. China has rejected criticism of its COVID data. PLACES IMPOSING CURBS

Czech farm to cull 220,000 chickens in country's largest bird flu outbreak

Czech authorities are preparing to destroy up to 220,000 hens on a poultry farm in the west of the country after bird flu was discovered there last week, in the biggest outbreak to date.

Bird flu was reported last Friday at the farm located 150 km (90 miles) west from Prague, which can house up to 750,000 chickens, after an increase of deaths in one of three halls there.

Belgium to test wastewater on airliners from COVID-hit China

Belgium will test wastewater from planes arriving from China for new COVID variants as part of new steps against the spread of the coronavirus as infections in China surge, the government announced on Monday. "This will be an additional monitoring objective to verify that the data we receive from China is accurate," Steven Van Gucht of the Sciensano national public health institute told Reuters.

EU to discuss coordinated response to China COVID situation on Wed

European Union government health officials will hold talks on Wednesday on a coordinated response to the surge in COVID-19 infections in China, the Swedish EU presidency said on Monday, after December talks concluded with no decisions on the matter. At a similar meeting on Dec. 29, held online among over 100 representatives from EU governments, EU health agencies and the World Health Organisation, Italy urged the rest of the EU to follow its lead and test travellers from China for COVID, with Beijing poised to lift travel restrictions on Jan. 8.