EU countries have started reopening economies, with plans of reopening borders by July 01, but entry would be denied to travelers from the U.S and other countries. As it is European Union officials have arrived at a decision to ban travellers coming from countries of origin that have yet to control the COVID-19 outbreak in their territories.
Apparently, the U.S. figures prominently in the list of banned countries being drawn up for finalization by July 01, 2020. It is only a matter of getting the consensus and agreement of all 27 member countries, as many are anxious to kickstart by reopening their borders for nonessential fravels. This means citizens in the European region will be allowed to leave and travel for purposes of leisure, entertainment or recreation as long as they come from a country that has already controlled its domestic health crisis.
How the EU Commission Makes Its Assessments of Countries
European officials base their assessment on the average number of new cases per 100,000 people reported per day during the most recent 14-day period. As countries in the EU bloc average at 16 per day for every 100,000 of their respective population, the figure has been set as the benchmark for assessments.
As of Times report date, Brazil has the highest number at 190, followed by the U.S. at 107, and Russia at 80. The U.S. number could still go higher, since on June 24 alone, the number of new cases grew; already running at more than 38,000 in a single day.
The list of banned countries will be updated every two weeks, in deference to countries that may have lowered their average daily cases during the 14-day period. Although EU officials are not forcing member countries to adopt the list, they warn that failure to apply the ban would only lead to reintroduction of the highly infectious coronavirus disease throughout the bloc.
When Can Americans Expect Exclusion from the EU Travel Ban?
Restrictions will apply, mostly to countries that are still under lockdown and where there seems to be little progress in arresting the continuing spread of the disease in their domestic front.
Donald Trump, like Vladimir Putin of Russia and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil , have all been slow in following the necessary steps prescribed by scientists and health experts. In fact in his recent Tulsa rally, Trump told his followers that in order to lower the numbers of COVID-19 positive cases reported on a daily basis, he has given instructions to slow down the testing.
The Tulsa revelation will of course put the U.S. at the top of the list of banned countries, and probably for a long time. In fact, Trump has plans of withdrawing federal support to testing centers and use the funds instead, in supporting drug and biolab companies.