The European Union has recommended its 27 nations members reintroduce restrictions on tourists from the US because of rising coronavirus infections there. The decision by the European Council to remove the US from a safe list of countries for nonessential travel reverses advice that it gave in June, when the bloc recommended lifting restrictions on US travelers before the summer tourism season. The guidance is nonbinding, however, and U.S. travelers should expect a mishmash of travel rules across the continent. "Nonessential travel to the EU from countries or entities not listed (...) is subject to temporary travel restriction," the council said in a statement. "This is without prejudice to the possibility for member states to lift the temporary restriction on nonessential travel to the EU for fully vaccinated travelers." The EU also removed Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro and North Macedonia from the list. The decision comes as the Delta variant is sending infections and hospitalizations soaring. The US is now registering more than 1,000 new cases per day, the highest level since March. The US' vaccination campaign has stalled in recent months and fallen significantly behind the EU's inoculation efforts. More than 57 percent of the EU's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 52 percent in the United States. The US was first included in the safe list on June 18. The inclusion was followed by weeks of intensive lobbying from European officials who put pressure on their American counterparts to reciprocate and open up their doors for EU citizens. Despite the rapid spread of the Delta variant across the world, a group of countries remain on the EU's safe list: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Canada, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, Qatar, Moldova, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine. Removal from the EU's safe list means that non-essential travel again becomes subject to temporary travel restrictions, such as testing, quarantine or a downright ban. — Euro news with inputs from agencies.
