With US Coronavirus Cases Surging, EU Bans American Travelers

The European Union on Tuesday announced that it would ban visitors from the United States to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as the country grapples with a surge in cases. Travelers from other hard-hit countries such as Brazil, Russia, and India will also be barred from traveling to the bloc when its external borders reopen Wednesday.

Visitors from the following nations will be allowed to travel to the 27 EU member states, along with four other countries in the Schengen visa-free zone: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

Countries on the safe list will also be required to lift any bans they have imposed on European travelers. The list will be updated every two weeks, with countries added or removed based on how they handle the virus.

The EU said China is “subject to confirmation of reciprocity,” meaning Beijing must also lift restrictions on European travelers before being added to the safe list.

The EU ban on U.S. travelers may draw action from President Donald Trump, who could respond with retaliatory measures, such as tariffs. In March, Trump banned travel from the Schengen Zone to the United States.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that he was working closely with his European counterparts to resume travel between the U.S. and Europe. More than 15 million Americans visit the EU each year, with around 10 million European visitors traveling to the U.S. annually.

“We’re working with our European counterparts to get that right,” Pompeo said in a videoconference organized by the German Marshall Fund think tank last week. “There’s enormous destruction of wealth.”

Coronavirus cases have surged in the southern United States over the past few weeks, with some governors reintroducing lockdown measures. On Tuesday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced he would close all bars, clubs, movie theaters and gyms in the state for 30 days. Florida and Texas have also temporarily closed down bars, while New Jersey has postponed the reopening of indoor dining as a preventative measure.

The U.S. currently has the highest number of cases in the world. As of Tuesday at 10:55 a.m. ET, there are 2,683,000 cases of the virus in the United States and a death toll of 129,545.

Brazil, another country banned from EU travel, has the second-highest number of cases in the world, with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro frequently downplaying the virus. There are currently 1,368,195 cases in Brazil and a death toll of 58,314.