EU lifts travel restrictions from 15 countries, bans US travelers News
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EU lifts travel restrictions from 15 countries, bans US travelers

In a statement released on Tuesday, the EU announced they would lift travel restrictions from 15 nations but not the US.

The nations approved include Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and China. China’s inclusion on the list is subject to confirmation of reciprocity. The US was left off the list.

In the statement, the EU also released its criteria for determining when to lift travel restrictions from a certain country. These criteria take into account “the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations.”

Further, the epidemiological situation considers the number of new COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days and per 100,000 inhabitants, the trend of new cases compared to the 14 days previous and the nation’s overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall response includes the measures a nation is taking to combat COVID-19.

The travel restrictions do not apply to EU citizens and their family members, long-term EU residents and their family members and travelers with essential functions.

The EU will update the list every two weeks.

Fore more on COVID-19, see our special coverage.

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