The European Union (EU) decided on Monday to remove Argentina, Australia and Canada from the list of countries from which you can travel without restrictionsOfficially stated in a press release.
On the other side, The bloc announced that it will gradually lift travel restrictions for several countries, including four in Latin America: ChileAnd Colombia, Peru s Uruguay.
“Following a review as part of the gradual lifting of temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the European Union, the Council has updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other regional entities and authorities whose travel restrictions should be lifted. In particular, Argentina, Australia and Canada were removed from the list.The European Council announced in a statement.
In light of the advertisement Non-essential travel to the European Union from countries or entities not included in Annex I is subject to temporary travel restrictions.
Being listed in Annex I means that all travel from the country in question is permitted, regardless of vaccination status (it does not matter whether the person has been vaccinated, or if they have been vaccinated with a vaccine not recognized by the EMA or WHO).
But the block made it clear “This is without prejudice to the possibility for member states to lift temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU for fully vaccinated travelers.”
The measure arranged on Monday will be Revised every 2 weeks And if so, updated, according to the European Union.
On the other hand, arranged mass Gradual lifting of travel restrictions On the outer border of the population the two seasAnd ChileAnd ColombiaAnd IndonesiaAnd KuwaitAnd New ZealandAnd PeruAnd QatarAnd RwandaAnd Kingdom Saudi ArabiaAnd South KoreaAnd The United Arab EmiratesAnd UruguayAnd China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity), in addition to the special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong s Macau.
The Council decided to reconsider the situation ArgentinaAnd Australia s Canada At a time when these three countries They are going through a difficult health condition In the context of the third wave of the pandemic as a result of the impact of the variable Omicron.
In Argentina, at the end of December, an outbreak of infection began Last Friday was its record day in the number of new positive cases Since the beginning of the pandemic, 139,853 cases have been recorded.
Also, after the virus was successfully contained early in the pandemic, Australia has reported nearly 1.3 million cases in the past two weeksHospitals and test sites.
Nearly 74,000 cases were reported on Monday, the lowest number in the country in a week. The national daily numbers reached a record high of 150,000 last Thursday, although it has been steadily declining since then.
Canada It is also witnessing a significant acceleration in the spread of the epidemic, and The authorities expect unprecedented numbers of injuries, with 170,000 cases per day in the coming weeks.
The current wave of the epidemic started at the end of 2021 With the arrival of the omicron variant, it is much more contagious than the previous species.
according to World Health Organization (WHO), in Europe, an increase in its circulation could lead to the emergence of new, more dangerous variants.
Although the intensity of the omicron seems limited, it is Causing an increase in sick leaves and disruptions in various sectors, including health.
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