Audio By Carbonatix
The European Union plans to recommend that its 27 nations reinstate restrictions on tourists from the U.S. because of rising coronavirus infection levels there, EU diplomats said Monday.
A decision to remove the U.S. from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel would reverse advice from June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on U.S. travellers before the summer tourism season.
The guidance could come as early as this week, according to the EU diplomats. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the review process was still ongoing.
Any decision would be nonbinding, however. The EU has no unified COVID-19 tourism policy and national governments have the authority to decide whether they keep their borders open to U.S. tourists. Possible restrictions could include quarantines, further testing requirements upon arrival or even a total ban on all non-essential travel from the US.
The United States has yet to reopen its own borders to EU tourists, despite calls from the bloc for the Biden administration to lift its ban.
The European Council updates the list based on criteria relating to coronavirus infection levels. It gets reviewed every two weeks. The threshold for being on the EU list is having not more than 75 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days.
Last week in the U.S. new cases averaged over 152,000 a day, turning the clock back to the end of January, and the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients was around 85,000, a number not seen since early February.
U.S. coronavirus deaths have been over 1,200 a day for several days, seven times higher than they were in early July.
Latest Stories
-
Tanzanian lecturer arrested over anti-government protests charged with terrorism
32 minutes -
2026 Commonwealth Games: Ghana’s sprint trio begin men’s 100m campaign on Monday
35 minutes -
The notorious Cameroonian prison with its own record label
43 minutes -
Team Ghana endures disappointing Day 3 at 2026 Commonwealth Games
48 minutes -
Would you pay $58.5m to live in this iconic New York building?
52 minutes -
Ryan Gosling to join Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ghost Rider
1 hour -
Berlin Pride attack suspect shot and killed during police operation
1 hour -
Burnham says he is prepared to call out Trump ‘if right for Britain’
1 hour -
Trump paused attacks on Iran to make space for talks, US ambassador says
2 hours -
Meghan calls Harry ‘a charmer’ during MasterChef Australia appearance
2 hours -
Barcelona pledge support after worker dies
2 hours -
Rodri set to undergo back surgery
2 hours -
IOC says Infantino complaint outside its scope
2 hours -
Kane set for talks with Bayern Munich over new deal
2 hours -
Howe unsure over Guimaraes amid Arsenal interest
3 hours