EU officials this week urged member nations to reinstate restrictions on tourists coming from the United States due to the increasing number of COVID cases there.
The announcement is a full 180 from June, when the bloc recommended that states lift restrictions on nonessential travel from the United States. EU officials have also advised states to restrict travel from Israel, Lebanon, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia, though the advice is not binding.
The EU updates its “safe travel list” every 2 weeks based on infection rates. Any nation that reports more than 75 new COVID cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days is removed from the list.
Nonessential travel from the EU to the US has been banned since March 2020.
According to The New York Times, there were 42,158 new cases reported in the US on August 29th with a 7-day average of 156,886. Compare this to mid-June, when daily cases fluctuated between 4,000 and 15,000.
The sudden increase, driven by the Delta variant, has been most severe in southern states including Texas, California, and Florida. As it stands, there are roughly 85,000 COVID patents in US hospitals. Roughly 52% of American adults are fully vaccinated against the virus.
According to CDC data, unvaccinated individuals are nearly 30x more likely to be admitted to a hospital if infected than individuals who are fully vaccinated.
Sources:
The Eu is Taking the US off its Safe Travel List and Backs Travel Restrictions
COVID: EU recommends new travel restrictions for US as cases rise
Coronavirus in the US: Latest Map and Case Count
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