The European Union announced its “safe list” of countries whose citizens are allowed to travel into the bloc, but Americans are excluded due to a surge of coronavirus cases, numerous sources reported Tuesday.
The U.S. didn’t make the list of 14 countries beyond EU borders allowed entry, although China was provisionally approved as long as Beijing decides to allow EU visitors within its borders, Reuters reported.
Recent cases in Beijing heightened concerns about a possible resurgence of the outbreak in China, Deutsche Welle reported. Schools were shut down in June after nearly a dozen cases were linked to a wholesale food market which supplies much of the city’s produce.
BEIJING, CHINA – JUNE 30: A medical worker wearing a protective suit takes a swap at a temporary COVID-19 testing site on June 30, 2020 in Beijing, China. As of today, the nucleic acid testing completed number of people in Beijing has reached 9 million. The authorities in Beijing have begun an operation to contain a potential second wave of coronavirus. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay were the other countries permitted entry.
Russia, Brazil, Turkey and the U.S., however, were deemed to have worse containment of the virus than the EU average. The list is updated every 14 days, and countries may be added to the safe list or dropped from it depending on each respective country’s magnitude of virus spread.
The list requires 15 EU countries representing 65% of the population to pass the list, and EU members have the prerogative to set further restrictions on those entering from the safe list countries.
The move comes during Europe’s peak travel season, when tourists are usually expected to crowd into popular destinations that carry a significant portion of revenue. Italy and Spain, among Europe’s most traveled countries, were among the hardest hit by the pandemic. (RELATED: Spain Begins Welcoming Back Tourists As Europe Moves Toward Reopening)
Many U.S. states have been experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, prompting some, like Florida and Texas, to take measures including closing bars to prevent close gathering.
Nearly 39,000 coronavirus cases were recorded nationwide Sunday, marking the second straight decrease after Friday’s record of 45,255 new cases, which is above April highs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
