In a decision that should surprise nobody following the rise of coronavirus in the US, the EU has decided to ban travelers from the US whenever it is set to reopen July 1, 2020.
There has been speculation over the past couple of weeks that this would happen due to the second major surge in the US.
The European Union has banned travelers since March 17. That ban was extended on a couple of occasions and so July 1 will be the first date that outside travelers are allowed back into the region.
The US is not the only country that is not allowed to come into the EU. Brazil and Russia are also not on the list of accepted visitors.
Both of those countries have a lot of cases with Brazil at 1.23 million and Russia at 620,000. Of course, they can’t hold a candle to the US 2.45 million confirmed cases.
The list of approved places that can travel to Europe include: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Andorra, San Marino, Monaco, and the Vatican.
China could potentially also end up on the list but only if they decide to allow EU travelers to visit China.
The list still needs to be finalized but it is pretty much a done deal that Americans will not be able to travel to the EU.
U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes shared an interesting quote when he stated, “This is unwelcome news, and will have major negative implications for an economic recovery—particularly if this ban results in cycles of retaliation, as is so often the case.”
It is disappointing to see travel closed off to Americans but it is no shock as we are experiencing more cases now than we were during the first outbreak wave.
It’s really hard to blame any country that doesn’t think it’s a good idea to admit US travelers (at least without some form of testing).
I do feel bad for certain regions of the country that have started to really diminish their cases because they have worked hard to flatten the curve and now they will not be able to reap those rewards.
Hopefully this does not last longer than it needs to and hopefully it also does not lead to future tensions or “cycles of retaliation.”
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.