German Acting Minister of Health Jens Spahn will hold a press conference on the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation in Berlin, Germany on December 3, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

BRUSSELS, December 7 (Reuters)-EU health ministers discussed on Tuesday measures to try to stop the spread of the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus. The Netherlands called for negative testing of incoming passengers from outside the EU, while France urged testing for these people. From EU countries.

Like many countries, EU member states agreed last month to impose travel restrictions on seven southern African countries because they reported multiple cases of the Omicron variant, which is considered highly contagious. Read more.

Although this variant has been widely reported outside of these African countries, none of the ministers at a regular meeting in Brussels recommended that these restrictions be lifted.

Hugo de Jonge, the Minister of Health of the Netherlands, proposed to test all people who traveled to the EU from outside the EU to a negative PCR test.

"In addition, those who have not been vaccinated or recovered should also be quarantined," he told the ministers at a public meeting of the ministers.

In the fight against Omicron, French Minister of Health Olivier Veran even proposed testing all travelers, including those from EU countries.

Portugal is one of the EU countries that has required negative tests for all air passengers entering the country, even if they have been vaccinated and are from other EU countries.

Two EU sources told Reuters that the lack of common ground makes it difficult to pass a coordinated decision quickly.

A source said that EU diplomats will discuss the matter on Friday, and PCR testing of passengers outside the EU is the most likely option to win. However, at this stage, no consensus was reached, and more data about Omicron is needed before making a decision, two sources said.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that vaccination is still the main tool to stop the spread of virus variants. She also praised Omicron's rapid and coordinated introduction of travel restrictions shortly after its appearance.

She said in a public meeting: "We must now focus on more robust testing and contact tracing measures for travelers from high-risk areas," she pointed out that any changes to current measures should follow more about Omicron The data.

The agency said that as of Tuesday, European countries monitored by the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) had recorded 274 Omicron cases.

Germany's outgoing health minister Jens Spahn said that it is important to restrict travel restrictions to the EU before getting more information about the Omicron variant.

"Before we learn more, we need to be cautious, so travel restrictions are important to minimize the number of people entering Europe and Germany," he told reporters when he arrived at the meeting.

EU sources said Monday that there is no immediate plan to relax restrictions, overturning media reports citing a diplomat that this might be the case. read more

The head of the European Union's drug regulatory agency, Emercock, said at the meeting that vaccines are still the main tool to fight the virus because they can even provide protection against Omicron, although there is no conclusive evidence yet.

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