The  Delta variant is what has caused a rise in COVID cases and shows   higher severity in the southern potion of the United States and rising nationwide.  Guidance from the 27-nation bloc reverses advice from June that lifted restrictions on American travelers especially with the tourism season underway.

Each country will be able to make their own decisions on when US travelers can enter their countries again and lift or extend the ban. Each country may or may not require proof of vaccination, negative tests, or quarantine past the designated timeframe.

The recommendation is nonbinding, meaning individual countries will be allowed to decide if they still wish to allow US visitors with proof of vaccination, negative tests, or quarantine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the lack of reciprocity would not be allowed to “drag on for weeks”.

Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are removed from the EU’s safe travel list.

Unvaccinated people are about 29 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19 than those who are fully vaccinated, according to a  new study reported by the  US Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week.