Australian tourists could be banned from Europe or forced into quarantine The European Union Declares down under a ‘Covid Danger Zone’ amid rising cases.
The classification of Australia as a virus hotspot and the tightening of restrictions may make it nearly impossible to travel to parts of Europe.
The European Union announced that Australia has been removed from the white list of countries for which COVID travel restrictions ‘should be lifted’.
“New testing and self-isolation requirements may apply depending on which EU member state you are traveling to, whether or not you have been fully vaccinated,” it said.
Australian tourists could be banned from traveling to Europe or forced into quarantine as the EU declares under a ‘COVID danger zone’ (pictured, Bondi beach-goers)
Australia’s classification as a virus hot spot and travel to European destinations may be impossible after restrictions are tightened (pictured, Heathrow Airport)
Omicron cases continue to rise across Australia, and the European Union has noted that there were 511,267 infections in seven days earlier this month.
Australia is conspicuously absent from the ‘white list’ which recently added countries outside the Schengen area to some EU states for travel.
Travel restrictions will be eased for tourists from countries including New Zealand, Indonesia, Chile, South Korea and China, although Australia is excluded.
This means citizens may be subject to a total or partial ban from entering some European countries, with increased quarantine and testing requirements.
The European Council has also labeled Canada and Argentina as COVID risk zones, with a list to be reviewed every two weeks.
The official directive comes after the US State Department and the Centers for Disease and Prevention updated their travel advisories for Americans on Wednesday.
Down Under is noticeably absent from the European Union’s ‘white list’, which recently cleared travelers from outside the Schengen zone (pictured, travelers arrive at an airport near Paris, France)
Australia was slapped on Wednesday with a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ rating – similar to war-torn countries including North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria (pictured, tested in Bondi)
Australia was slapped with a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ rating – similar to war-torn countries including North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria.
US citizens are being warned to avoid all travel to Australia, declaring the risk of contracting COVID-19 as ‘serious’.
Even with the highest number of Covid cases in the world since the pandemic began, the US administration warned Americans to avoid traveling Down Under, countries such as China and Japan still considered Level 3. .
Level 1 means low risk under the hazard system, level 2 indicates moderate risk, while level 3 urges US residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
During the pandemic, the CDC’s marker for a nation to have a Level 4 alert is 500 new Covid cases per 100,000 people in the past 28 days, with 22 new nations crossing that threshold this week.
The travel advisory states, ‘Do not travel to Australia due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Australia due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country.
Canada reported 48,964 new infections for January 17 – earning it a spot on the EU’s list of danger
‘If you are fully vaccinated with an FDA-approved vaccine, you may have a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms.
‘Australia has restrictions affecting the entry of US citizens.’
Australia’s Covid death toll has been relatively low during most of the pandemic, but Omicron is posing challenges with more than 60,000 new daily cases since December.
Australia will be considered vulnerable by both the US and the EU, at least until the Omicron wave passes and cases drop.
Australia has recorded 1.8 million cases of COVID-19 and 2,750 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
This means that about 6.9 percent of the population has been infected with Kovid, with a mortality rate of just 0.01 percent.
In NSW – the state that continues to record the majority of the country’s infections – 36 people died with Covid on Thursday (pictured, a traffic marshal at a Bondi Beach testing clinic)
Australia has recorded a total of 1.8 million cases of COVID-19 and 2,750 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic.
By comparison, about 21 percent of France’s population has been infected with the virus and 0.18 percent have died since the start of the pandemic.
Australia has banned international tourists since March 2020, the month the World Health Organization declared a pandemic.
But international students and those with working visas have been allowed to return to Australia from December 2021.
In March 2020, Australians were banned from traveling abroad for the holiday, but that ban was lifted just before Christmas for vaccinated citizens and permanent residents.
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