BRUSSELS — Back in June, the European Union urged its member countries to reopen their borders to travelers from the United States, hoping to give a boost to the continent’s ailing tourism sector in the crucial summer season. American tourists flocked to the beaches of Spain and Greece, the countryside of Italy and the streets of Amsterdam and Paris. But on Monday, the European Union proposed new travel restrictions for unvaccinated visitors from the United States, a response to the alarming surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the Atlantic. In removing the United States from a “safe list” of countries whose residents can travel without requirements such as quarantine and testing, the European Council of the European Union, which represents governments of the bloc’s 27 countries, signaled that potential restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus may remain in place for months. The new measures could deal a fresh blow to Europe’s ailing tourism sector.

Source: International New York Times August 30, 2021 19:27 UTC