EU May Bar US Travelers Over COVID-19 Failure as Borders Reopen

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, World News Wednesday, June 24th, 2020

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Travelers from the US may be included among those to be barred from entering European countries as plan has reached top gear to reopen external borders July 1.

The resolution was reached at the EU ambassadors meeting which held Wednesday.

The alarming rate in which the virus is spreading in the US, accounts for the likely ban on the US travelers.

A number of European countries are keen to open up to tourists but others are wary of the continued spread of coronavirus.

The 27-member bloc must first agree on the measures that non-EU countries should meet before deciding on a safe list.

Brazil, Russia and other countries with high infection rates are also to be left off a safe list, according to reports from Brussels.

The EU is yet to agree on how they will assess which countries meet health standards – one of the criteria for entry.

Part of the problem reports said is assessing reliable health data.

Latest figures from the EU’s health agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, highlight Brazil, Peru, Chile, Panama and Saudi Arabia as countries with the highest “case notification rate”.

Russia and the US have a lower rate of cases per 100,000 inhabitants but are still higher than most of Europe.

The US has recorded 2.3 million infections; 120,000 deaths while confirmed cases are increasing in several states.