Today, the European Union announced that it would begin allowing travelers from 15 countries to fly into countries in the EU beginning on Wednesday, July 1st. Significantly, the United States did not make the list. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering that with over 2.6 million cases of coronavirus across the country, according to the most recent data collected by the Johns Hopkins University, we are the current epicenter of the virus worldwide.
According to CNBC, external visitors from Algeria, Tunisia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and Uruguay will be welcomed to visit the European Union for the first time since countries began shuttering their economies in March as a response to the coronavirus spread. Chinese visitors will also be permitted to fly into the EU, once the country starts accepting European travelers.
The EU’s decision is non-binding, meaning any country may open its borders to whichever country they want, though European governments have been strongly advised to not lift travel restrictions if the country of origin has not met certain criteria — new COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days need to be close to or below the EU’s average, with infection rates trending toward a decline, or stabilizing in comparison to the previous 14 days.
Considering several states across the United States are still recording record highs, we can put to rest any hopes we held of flying to Europe this summer.
