The 27-member bloc gave approval on Tuesday to leisure or business trips from 14 countries beyond its borders: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.
But, the European Union has excluded the United States from its initial “safe list” of countries from which the bloc will allow non-essential travel from Wednesday. The US has seen over 2.5 million cases and suffered over 125,000 deaths, roughly a quarter of the global total. In recent days there has been a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in many states across the country.
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China has also been provisionally approved, but only if Chinese authorities also allow in EU visitors. Reciprocity is a condition of being on the list.
With the UK’s long-awaited ‘air bridge’ announcement, outlining which countries Britons can visit without the need to self-isolate on their return, expected soon, the EU’s list is likely to create problems. For example, if the UK includes France on its own list but leaves off Uruguay, Britons could simply fly to the South American country via Paris and bypass the rules.
An announcement was expected on Monday but has been postponed.