European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers seen by The New York Times.
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A prohibition of Americans by Brussels partly reflects the shifting pattern of the pandemic. In March, when Europe was the epicenter, Mr. Trump infuriated European leaders when he banned citizens from most European Union countries from traveling to America. Mr. Trump justified the move as necessary to protect the United States, which at the time had roughly 1,100 coronavirus cases and 38 deaths.
The Times is making a bit of a reach on implying that this is due to Trump banning European citizens from the United States at the beginning of the European surge. I am sure there is a tiny bit of truth to it but I doubt anyone in the EU delegation will say it. To me the move seems more of a pragmatic decision based on where the U.S. and other countries are when it comes to containing Covid-19. I’ve seen posts on Facebook and Twitter of U.S. citizens hopping around European countries because the entry procedures are not uniform, so locking down access at the entry points makes a lot of sense.
Of course this stinks if you are an American wanting or needing to travel to the European Union over the next few months but since we can’t seem to wear masks or socially distance, we reap what we sow.
I recently posted a quick poll on Twitter asking how many people are planning leisure travel via airplane and was surprised by the response. So far out of 334 responses, nearly 40% plan to travel in the next 1-3 months. Only 22% have no plans to travel. With this EU news and the fact that we still can’t seem to get the disease under control here in the States, I am not convinced it is time to travel again. It honestly seems like it is more of a pain than it’s worth and the risks are still far too high.
Aren’t the republicans all about personal responsibility? We can’t keep the virus in control on our own soil…why would they let us bring it back to them?!