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EU member states are expected to agree to weaken Corona restrictions on Friday. Insiders predict. For vaccinated 14 days after the sting then applies: when traveling within the EU, no tests are necessary. There is also news for those who have recovered.
USA relaxes travel warning
The relaxation of the Corona restrictions, longed for by the travel industry, will get the green light from EU member states on Friday, June 11, according to insiders. EU ambassadors planned to approve the commission’s proposal with some changes, diplomats in Brussels said Thursday. People vaccinated against Corona will thus be able to travel in the EU without testing requirements for two weeks after the shot. The same will apply for six months for those who have been proven to have recovered.
WHO: Corona danger still present
The rules are thus relaxed in time for the launch of the digital EU Covid certificate (green passport) at the start of the vacation season on July 1. The travel industry, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, had called for the gradual opening from the extensive travel ban. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged people to travel responsibly because the Corona threat has not yet been averted even in Europe.
Over 25 percent of Europeans fully vaccinated against Corona
Currently, only a little more than a quarter of Europeans are fully vaccinated. “Now is the time for Europe to start opening up safely and fully,” Johan Lundgren, chairman of the Airlines for Europe (A4E) airline association and chief executive of low-cost carrier Easyjet, urged Thursday. Given rising numbers of Covid vaccinations and the EU-wide digital vaccination certificate that will take effect July 1, he said, that is possible. The association estimates that 70 percent of the population will have a primary vaccination by the end of the month. Under the scheme, member states can decide to allow single-vaccination holders into the country. Booking numbers have been picking up for summer travel for weeks and are expected to get another boost from the new rules.
Airlines wanted uniform approach
Airlines insisted on a unified approach by EU member states. Insufficient coordination among EU states has contributed to airlines in Europe losing much more than those in the U.S. or Asia, Lundgren said. A4E expects Europe’s airlines to lose 18 billion euros this year – half the global shortfall.
EU: Relaxed corona risk categories
Under the concept, those with negative covid tests would also no longer be required to be quarantined. Children aged twelve and older can be tested, but will only have to be quarantined if an adult accompanying them needs to be isolated. The EU also wants to define the risk categories for countries less strictly. In future, countries with a 14-day incidence of no more than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants will be classified as green, compared with 25 previously. Red, and thus a travel warning and quarantine, will apply to infection rates of up to 500 instead of 150 previously. Governments will be able to apply the emergency brake and impose entry bans if virus variants should break out abroad.
— sources: vienna.at and APA/picture: pixabay.com
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