EU Opens Borders to 14 Countries: DW

The European Union, seeking to protect its citizens from the Covid-19 pandemic and citing epidemiological factors like testing trends and serious public health responses, is opening its borders to nationals from 14 nations. The EU is also extending a travel ban imposed in mid-March for travelers from the United States, Brazil, Russia and most other countries beyond July 1. The United States, with less than 4 percent of the world’s population, represents about 25 percent of all Covid-19 cases. “A lack of interstate coordination and an uneven response from the federal government has contributed to several new outbreaks across the country,” reports Deutsche Welle, adding that the list is technically a recommendation. EU member states are responsible for implementing the recommendation and can lift some restrictions with full transparency. The EU will update the list every two weeks. China can go if it allows EU nationals to travel there. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert at the US National Institutes of Health, testified in a congressional hearing that US cases could exceed 100,000 per day if the country does not control the current surge. – YaleGlobal