Although the U.S. is soon to open its borders to 26 Schengen Area countries, U.S. authorities have updated the Travel Advisory to 14 countries that are in its Level 4: Do No Not Travel advisory list.
The 14 European Union and Schengen Area countries that are on the Travel Advisory, which is updated every week, include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Per the US Department of State the newest countries added to the travel advisory which was issued November 2 were Belgium and Slovakia after an increase of infection cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported nearly 2,300 positive cases in Slovakia over the past 24 hours. While Belgium has not seen any new cases in the past 24 hours, they have reported over 1.3 million infections since the beginning of the pandemic.
All US citizens who must travel to one of these European countries are urged not to travel, but if they must, US health agencies advise that travelers should be fully vaccinated with an authorized vaccine approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This news furthers a recent alert regarding arrivals from the EU and several other countries in that starting on November 8, travelers who reach the US will be required to present proof of vaccination before boarding. This same communication is being sent to incoming travelers to the US, including US citizens, who will be required to undergo COVID-19 testing within the first day of departure.
Part of the official statement of the White House reads, “starting on November 8, non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination status prior to boarding an aeroplane to fly to the US, with only limited exceptions,”.