The bad news: Americans are still banned from entering Europe. The good news: the State Department just lifted its previously set global advisory on avoiding international travel.
Issued back in March, the advisory asked folks to avoid travel altogether. As of today, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency is doling out country-specific advice.
"With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice [...] in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions," reads the official release. That being said, the department still continues "to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic."
As of today, 50 countries around the world are still designated by an alert level of 4—the highest. Based on official guidelines, a level 4 label amounts to a "do not travel" advisory. Mostly countries with a high number of coronavirus cases fall within this category.
Of course, the change in policy is virtually meaningless as Americans still aren't allowed into most countries around the world. We'll consider it a great first step, though?
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