The European Union is reopening to travelers from 14 countries, but not the United States.
American visitors will have to wait at least another two weeks because of rises in coronavirus cases stateside, according to the Tuesday announcement. Travelers from Russia, Brazil and India are also missing out, for now.
The 14 countries whose residents will be allowed to travel to the EU are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.
China will be the 15th country on the list, pending confirmation of reciprocity, according to the release.
“Decisions on the possible lifting of the restriction on non-essential travel into the EU should take into account the epidemiological situation within the EU, i.e. the average number of COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days and per 100 000 inhabitants,” explained the document.
The pandemic is still gripping the United States, where some regions have re-opened certain locations and activity sites, only to shut them down again. Los Angeles County announced Monday it will be closing its beaches again July 3-July 6 and prohibiting fireworks displays in light of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer urged residents to stay home whenever possible and comply with physical distancing and face-covering guidelines as the total number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 100,000 on Monday.