European Union bars travelers from the U.S. over coronavirus scare [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The European Union announces that it will implement travel restrictions to travelers from particular countries, including the U.S.
• E.U. explains the decision is based on medical data gathered by the experts worldwide as the region wants to prevent more COVID-19 infections.
• The recent advisory will not cover citizens of the region abroad and other workers on essential industries.

Many visitors from the United States will not be allowed to enter the European Union by the time it reopens its borders Wednesday. The decision was based on the reports that the infection is still too widespread in the U.S., European authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

All 27 member nations of the E.U  have been making a list of countries in which infection levels are low enough for people to move around safely.

On Tuesday, European officials have revealed the list of countries they consider safe. The U.S did not make it to the list, considering it has the most number of COVID-19 cases and death toll worldwide.

Australia, Canada, Algeria,  Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea,  Montenegro, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Thailand, Serbia, and Uruguay are the 15 countries that made it to E.U’s safe list.

E.U officials added that the travel condition against China would be lifted if it allowed entry to E.U. visitors.

The decision is an indication of how Europe and the rest of the world see the U.S as a COVID-19 epicenter.

Both the U.S. and  E.U. faced an upsurge in the number of cases in March and April. But while strict quarantine measures helped curb the spread of coronavirus across Europe, the U.S. was challenged with recent infection spikes in Florida and Texas states as President Donald Trump called for reopening.

A tally by the NBC News showed that over 125,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since the outbreak began.

When Europe was considered the global coronavirus center in March, Trump imposed travel restrictions without advising any of his counterparts from E.U.

The E.U. clarified that its decision to implement the travel advisory was not based on political resentments but rather on medical data and recommendation.

During a European briefing conducted last week, the U.S. had recorded 107 cases in every 100,000 people in the previous two weeks. The E.U. numbers were only 16 cases for every 100,000.

For those other countries not part of the list, the E.U. will apply guidelines on non-essential travel that was effective since last March.

The said advisories are not be applied to E.U. citizens outside the country and essential workers in the health and freight industries, military staff, diplomats, and other travelers due to family reasons.

Source: AOL