Residents in Brazil Banned from Entering Europe While Pandemic Is Uncontrolled

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – European countries will ban entry to nationals from countries where the coronavirus pandemic is not controlled upon the opening of their external borders, which is scheduled for July 1st, the European Commission announced on Thursday, June 11th.

The list of countries that will be allowed entry began to be drawn up on Thursday; in practice, people now resident in Brazil will be prevented from entering Europe until Brazil takes control of the disease.

Among the parameters used to allow travelers from abroad are the number of new infections, the epidemic trend (whether it is expanding or has been controlled), and government policies to fight the coronavirus, such as testing, contact tracing, and contagion prevention measures.

According to Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, the epidemiological situation in each nation will be the main criteria for deciding who will have access to European territory, and the list will be gradually expanded.

“As the health situation in certain third countries remains critical, the Commission is not proposing a general lifting of travel restrictions at this stage. The restriction should be lifted for countries selected on the basis of a set of objective principles and criteria,” says an EU statement.

Brazil records the second-highest number of cases in the world and is on its way to surpassing the United Kingdom and recording the second-highest number of deaths, according to data from a joint effort of Brazilian media outlets. The contagion rate in Brazil also remains above 1, which means the transmission is out of control.

In addition to the pandemic situation, the bloc will also assess how to apply containment measures during travel and reciprocity measures (in this case, to ban those who do not open their doors to Europeans).

The European Commission also wants all 27 member countries and the other four in the Schengen area (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) to close all internal border controls by June 20th but recommends opening them next Monday, June 15th.

The restriction on the entry of non-Europeans, which expires on June 15th, will be extended until June 30th and, according to the commissioner, opening to travelers from outside the bloc and the Schengen area should only take place after internal controls are lifted.

For countries outside the access list, there may be exceptions for family members of EU and Schengen area residents, international students, and unskilled workers considered essential (such as crop workers).

TRAVEL MAP

Also on Thursday, the IATA (airline association) released an online map with travel restrictions imposed by countries around the world, including those requiring quarantine.

The map is updated more than 200 times a day to provide precise restrictions based on citizenship and country of residence, according to the association.

Source: UOL