The European Union has removed the United States and Israel from its list of safe countries for travelers during the pandemic. This Monday (30), the bloc governments decided to remove these countries and four others from the list. In practice, tourists arriving from these places may be subject to more stringent controls, such as mandatory tests and quarantines.
Kosovo, Israel, Montenegro, Lebanon and North Macedonia have also left the list of safe values, which seeks to unify the rules of access to the bloc.
However, this is a recommendation, since each country is sovereign to decide on its border control.
Some European countries, like Germany and Belgium, already include the United States in the red category, which requires Covid tests and around quarantine of travelers – something which does not happen in France and the Netherlands, for example. example, where until now the country was considered an original safe.
The list is based on the Covid-19 situation in each country and also takes into account reciprocity in policies towards Europeans.
The average number of daily cases of the disease in the United States rose to more than 450 per million people last week. In mid-June, when the country entered the EU’s safe bet list, there were only 40.
The proportional rates of cases in Israel, Kosovo and Montenegro are even higher.
The safe list contains 17 countries, including Canada, Japan and New Zealand. Brazil is not in the relationship.
The block still allows non-European visitors who have been fully vaccinated against Covid to enter Europe, although some have requested mandatory testing and quarantine periods upon arrival.
Despite calls from the EU, Washington does not allow European citizens to freely visit the country. This has led to a split between the governments of the bloc, with part of them condemning the lack of reciprocity, while another part is reluctant to apply restrictions to Americans, fearing damage to the tourism sector.