American Travelers Are No Longer On the EU's "Safe List"
On Monday, the European Union recommended the reinstatement of travel restrictions on U.S. tourists entering the EU’s 27 countries, taking the U.S. off of its list of countries from which nonessential travelers are deemed safe. The recommendation comes as the result of the increase in COVID-19 infection rates in the U.S and increasing anxiety over the delta variant. However, it is up to the individual countries whether to allow fully vaccinated American tourists to enter their borders.
This reverses the European Council's June recommendation to lift restrictions on U.S. travelers. To be considered safe by the Council, a nation must have 75 or fewer new cases per 100,000 people. The U.S. is currently averaging more than 155,000 new cases every day, per the Associated Press.
It should be noted that the EU does not have a singular tourism policy regarding coronavirus restrictions, so American travelers can expect rules and regulations to vary based by nation. Some countries may opt to completely ban nonessential U.S. travelers; others may keep their borders open while instating measures such as mandatory quarantines and additional COVID testing.
Note that the EU’s recommendation does not pertain to the United Kingdom, as it is no longer a member country. Currently, U.S. travelers are allowed into the U.K. without a requirement to self-isolate. Travelers do, however, have to provide a negative COVID-19 test within three days of arrival, as well as another two days after arriving.
In a briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki spoke about the new restrictions. “Today’s announcement by the EU impacts people who are unvaccinated and not people who are vaccinated,” Psaki said. “The fastest path to reopening travel is for people to get vaccinated, to mask up, and slow the spread of the deadly virus.”
She went on to reveal that the U.S. is working to develop a travel policy of its own. “We continue to work across federal agencies to develop a consistent and safe international travel policy,” Psaki said. “This includes travel from Europe. This will involve stepping up efforts to protect American people, including by potentially strengthening testing protocols for international travel. It may also involve ensuring that, over time, foreign nationals coming into the United States are fully vaccinated, with limited exceptions. No decision has been made yet, but these internal discussions have benefited greatly from our engagement with our international partners.”
Despite requests from the EU, the United States has not yet opened its borders to travelers from the Union’s member nations.
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