The Delta Variant has continued to spread across the country and the globe. The United States’ COVID cases have increased exponentially in the last few weeks, with the majority being those who are unvaccinated.
On the European Union Black List
Yesterday Bloomberg News reported, “The European Union will likely discuss reintroducing travel restrictions on visitors from the U.S. next week amid rising coronavirus case numbers. The U.S. has breached the threshold to be included on the list of non-EU countries that enjoy unrestricted travel into the bloc.”
Though not news we welcome, it is what we expected given our current situation. We certainly believe the EU will make the decision to take the United States off their list of countries that can travel without restrictions to EU countries.
Exception for Those Vaccinated?
Non-vaccinated travelers most likely will not be allowed to enter the EU even with a negative COVID test result. Vaccinated travelers may still be able to enter given they show their proof of vaccination, and perhaps even a negative COVID test result.
However, this decision is still up in the air. The European Union has been urging the US to allow vaccinated travelers into the country, yet the US still bans all non-essential travel. So will the EU allow vaccinated travelers to set a good example – or because their tourism industry desperately needs vaccinated Americans? Or will they reciprocate by banning all Americans. We think it most likely they will allow vaccinated Americans into EU on non-essential travel … but we will know more soon.
COVID Test Required?
I recently traveled to Iceland in June with my husband and a COVID test was required even though we were both vaccinated. It was a very small addition to our entry into the country and did not delay our plans at all. Just after going through customs, we entered another line to get a COVID test. The healthcare workers were quick and efficient. We then rented a car and drove to our hotel to wait for our test results as we ate breakfast in our room and rested from the overnight sleepless flight. We each received a text with our negative COVID results after a few hours and headed out the door to start exploring the beautiful city of Reykjavik. This is one possibility for the EU.
Our best guess at this time is the EU will allow vaccinated Americans into the country for leisure travel, possibly with a COVID test required. Of course, if a ban is reinstated for all US travelers, we would most likely reschedule our planned European tours scheduled for the coming months.
We will be watching this news closely and will provide an update as soon as we can.
Please stay safe out there!
