Travelers from United States Officially Barred from Entering European Union

The European Union (E.U.) is set to reopen its borders on Wednesday, July 1st and due to the COVID-19 pandemic surging in the U.S., most travelers from the country will not be permitted to enter.

Travelers from countries that are not included on the safe list such as health care workers, diplomats, humanitarian workers, transit passengers, asylum seekers, and students, as well as “passengers traveling for imperative family reasons” and foreign workers whose employment in Europe is deemed essential can be permitted to enter if an exception is granted.

According to the New York Times, the E.U. will “allow visitors from 15 countries, but the United States, Brazil, and Russia were among the notable absences from the safe list.” The U.S. currently has the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, according to NBC News.

The countries that made the “safe” list are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay. Travelers from China will be allowed into the E.U. if they reciprocate the favor. Officials have stated that this list “will be reviewed every two weeks to reflect the changing realities of the coronavirus outbreaks in individual nations.”