EU extends limits on Americans
Travel ban follows review of virus trends, measures
The European Union extended its travel ban on Americans on Thursday, as coronavirus infections continued to rise across the United States.
The EU first started lifting international travel restrictions on July 1, welcoming visitors from 14 countries, including Canada, South Korea and Australia. The U.S. was left off that initial list and Americans remain barred from visiting the bloc for at least another two weeks under Thursday's decision, announced by the European Council.
The announcement came after EU officials conducted their first biweekly review of travel restrictions, examining coronavirus trends and containment measures in each country to determine whether to add or narrow the list of permitted travelers.
The key measurement: The pandemic outbreak in a given country needs to be equally contained – or better – than in the EU.
The U.S. has surpassed 3.4 million cases with over 137,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. Globally, there have been 13.5 million cases and more than 584,300 deaths as of Thursday. Per USA TODAY data, there have been more than 692,000 new cases cases reported nationwide in the past 14 days.
According to EU data, the bloc – which includes the European Economic Area (EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and the United Kingdom – had 1.6 million total cases. Over the same 14-day period, those 33 countries combined recorded just over 57,100 cases. The U.S. only had five days below that number.
In Thursday's decision, the EU said residents of 12 countries could visit the bloc, which includes France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Austria.
Canada, South Korea, and Australia remain on the list of approved nations while Montenegro and Serbia were removed. No new countries were added.
Thursday's decree does not apply to travel to Britain, which left the EU in January. But those from the U.S. and many other nations will be barred from the EU as too risky because of spiking coronavirus cases in their home countries. Chinese travelers will be allowed to visit if that country's government confirms a policy of reciprocity, the council's announcement said.
The United States still has its own travel restrictions in place, even though the EU and other countries have made significantly more progress in containing the virus. The State Department has maintained its Level 4 travel advisory from March urging Americans to avoid all international travel because of COVID-19.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was recently asked if the Trump administration was seeking reciprocity from the EU in deciding when or whether to lift the U.S. travel ban on the EU.
"We are in complex conversations around how to get the science and the epidemiology of this right and how to make sure that we reduce risk," Pompeo said during a July 9 news conference. "We know there is a deep need and desire to get the global economy back going."