Portugal, as the current president of the European Union, has proposed adding nine countries, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, to the "white list," which includes countries allowed for non-essential travel. This move will enable European airlines to resume transatlantic travel, providing a significant boost to businesses like Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, along with American companies.
**Green Light for America**
On Wednesday, the European Union gave the green light for the return of American tourists, even those who are unvaccinated. National recovery packages aimed at alleviating the economic damage caused by the pandemic are expected to be approved. While the pandemic, which claimed at least 3.8 million lives worldwide, has been receding in the West, the situation is deteriorating in Russia, where the mayor of Moscow made COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for service industry workers to confront the "serious" rise in infection numbers.
As the summer holiday approaches, EU commissioners granted approval on Wednesday to add the United States to the list of countries and regions whose travelers can enter the EU, even if they have not been vaccinated. The list of countries exempt from travel restrictions has also expanded to include Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Lebanon, the United States, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong. The EU has kept its external borders closed to non-essential travel since March, maintaining a regularly updated list of non-member countries whose residents are allowed to travel to Europe.
Countries can be added if they have recorded fewer than 75 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a period of 14 days. The rate stands at 73.9 in the United States, which surpassed the grim milestone of 600,000 deaths on Tuesday. U.S. President Joe Biden referred to these numbers as "heartbreaking" and urged Americans to get vaccinated "as soon as possible." Thanks to the vaccination campaign, daily death tolls have significantly declined, and life is returning to normal in most parts of the country.
On Tuesday, nearly all restrictions were lifted in California and New York, where 70% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine. In France, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Wednesday that wearing masks outdoors will no longer be mandatory starting Thursday, except in specific circumstances such as gatherings or crowded places. He also announced the lifting of the curfew set at 11:00 PM starting next Sunday. Castex explained that this decision was made because the health situation is "improving faster than we expected." He added that around 35 million French people are expected to be fully vaccinated by the end of August, with 40 million first doses expected by the same date. The Prime Minister expressed a desire for 85% of people over the age of 50 and seniors with health issues to receive at least one dose by that time. As of Tuesday, around 30.7 million people have received at least one dose, and 16.7 million have been fully vaccinated.
**Reopening of the Taj Mahal**
Globally, life is also beginning to return to normal, as the Taj Mahal, India’s most famous tourist attraction, reopened its doors on Wednesday following a decrease in new COVID-19 cases after a two-month lockdown due to a deadly wave of the virus in the country. In Agra, Uttar Pradesh, where the massive marble mausoleum stands, some tour guides and traders appeared optimistic following the reopening. On the first day, visitor turnout was low, especially as authorities set a cap of 650 visitors per day. Trader Lucky Vizan, 20, told AFP, "The second wave of COVID is over. If a third wave hits, I will be finished." The daily number of new COVID-19 cases in India has been declining for weeks, encouraging major cities, including the capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai, to lift restrictions on movement and activities. India reported 62,224 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the health ministry. Daily cases exceeded 400,000 in May during the peak of the second wave. Officially, the country has recorded 379,573 deaths out of 29.63 million COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began, although many experts believe the actual toll is much higher.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised an imminent end to the mandatory outdoor mask requirement, according to AFP. Conversely, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin ordered vaccinations to be mandatory for service sector workers in the capital, citing a "serious" rise in infection numbers. Sobyanin wrote in a blog, "We simply must do everything necessary to carry out large-scale vaccinations in the shortest time possible to stop this terrible disease and prevent thousands of deaths."
**Unprecedented Achievement**
On Wednesday, Russia reported 13,397 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period, including 396 deaths. To date, less than 13% of the population has received at least one dose, with skepticism surrounding the local Sputnik V vaccine. After a lockdown in spring 2020, Russia implemented very limited restrictions to combat the pandemic to preserve its economy, most of which were lifted in early 2021, unlike EU countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday to later travel to Madrid to approve national recovery plans funded by an unprecedented joint loan. Von der Leyen announced to the European Parliament last week that the Commission would start approving projects for member states to implement a €750 billion economic stimulus plan that underwent difficult discussions before being approved in July 2020. She stated, "This is an unprecedented achievement."
