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(CNN) — The United States has reopened its borders to vaccinated planetary travelers, ending a 20-month question prohibition astatine the aforesaid infinitesimal Europe is battling a surge of COVID-19 cases that has pushed the continent backmost into the epicenter of the pandemic.
Fully vaccinated travelers from 33 countries — including the United Kingdom and overmuch of Europe — tin present participate the US without needing to quarantine, provided they person impervious of vaccination and a antagonistic viral test.
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Families and friends separated since the commencement of the pandemic streamed into airports crossed large European cities connected Monday morning, excited to spot loved ones for the archetypal clip since erstwhile President Donald Trump imposed pugnacious question restrictions astatine the outset of the pandemic successful an effort to power the virus.
But beyond these blessed scenes is simply a darker backdrop.
Europe is successful the grip of a caller question of coronavirus cases, with the World Health Organization past week informing the portion is erstwhile again “at the epicenter” of the pandemic.
Large swathes of Europe are battling to bushed backmost surges of the Delta variant, amid the relaxation of restrictions and stuttering vaccine rollouts successful immoderate countries, with the WHO informing fractional a cardinal Europeans could dice with COVID-19 successful a perchance devastating winter.
Germany connected Monday recorded its highest seven-day incidence complaint since the pandemic began. The aforesaid day, neighboring Austria banned unvaccinated radical from restaurants and hotels amid a surge successful cases. Iceland has besides reintroduced masks and social-distancing rules pursuing a rise. And cases are hovering astatine grounds levels successful Russia, Ukraine and Greece.
From Paris to the US, with love
France excessively has seen a crisp emergence successful cases successful the past month, with President Emmanuel Macron acceptable to address the federation connected Tuesday — his archetypal large TV code since July erstwhile helium announced arguable mandatory vaccinations for each wellness workers.
Nonetheless, a dependable watercourse of masked travelers arrived astatine Paris’ bustling Charles de Gaulle airdrome connected Monday morning, excited to yet spot loved ones successful the US.
The airport’s departures committee was filled astir back-to-back with flights to destinations successful the US. Some travelers wondered if this was a model of accidental to spot loved ones earlier different COVID-19 question successful Europe unopen them disconnected from the satellite again.
One traveler, Maxime Barei, told CNN helium was connected his mode to sojourn his 2 children successful Los Angeles wherever they are studying. It’s the archetypal clip he’s been capable to spell to the US successful 2 years. “We tin telephone it freedom,” Barei said, adding “I anticipation it continues.” Amid the uncertainty implicit different question successful Europe, helium said: “I don’t cognize if the borders volition beryllium closed again different time.”
Another woman, Maria Giribet Caldentey, was besides headed to California to spot her duplicate grandchildren, aft already postponing the travel erstwhile earlier owed to borderline closures. “I’m leaving the archetypal time they volition let maine to permission … I’ve got butterflies,” she said. It’s the archetypal clip Caldentey has traveled alone, aft her hubby died past year, and she admitting to having a fewer nerves astir the trip. But mostly she was relieved to yet beryllium going connected a travel she’s been “dreaming of since July.”
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Many European airlines — including Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss Air and British Airways — reported afloat oregon astir afloat flights connected the archetypal time the US reopened to vaccinated planetary travelers.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic celebrated the easing of restrictions with a dual take-off of their archetypal flights from Heathrow airdrome successful London to JFK airdrome successful New York. Air France said it would summation its capableness aft the US announcement led to a important summation successful bookings, peculiarly connected routes to New York, Miami and Los Angeles implicit the Christmas vacation period.
“After an unprecedented 18 period closure, contiguous we observe the reopening of the US to the astir 76% of the big EU colonisation who person since been vaccinated against COVID-19. Europe’s airlines look guardant to reuniting families and friends who person been separated for acold excessively long,” Europe’s largest hose association, Airlines 4 Europe, said successful a statement:
‘Good for the economy, bully for the people’
Meanwhile successful immoderate parts of Europe, experts person expressed interest that further rises successful infections, coupled with seasonal wintertime colds, could spot wellness attraction workers nether unmanageable unit done Christmas and successful the New Year.
On Monday, Germany’s regular COVID-19 corruption complaint climbed to 201.1 cases per 100,000 people, its highest since the commencement of the pandemic, according to the country’s Robert Koch Institute of infectious diseases (RKI). In immoderate eastbound states, similar Saxony and Thuringia, the incidental complaint was much than treble that astatine implicit 400.
However determination was small notation of rising cases from German politicians who welcomed the US question reopenings Monday, with the Minister of Economics and Technology, Peter Altmaier, welcoming the determination successful a statement, saying it was “good for our transatlantic relations, bully for the system and bully for people.”
So far, astir 80% of the big German colonisation has been afloat vaccinated, a somewhat little fig than different large EU countries similar France, Spain and Italy, according to the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC). But the rollout has been highly unequal crossed the bloc; connected the different side, Romania and Bulgaria person afloat vaccinated lone 40% and 27% of their adults, respectively.
Elsewhere, the UK has been enduring a stubborn streak of caller infections since the extremity of the summer, but has resisted implementing measures similar disguise mandates oregon vaccine passes which person go commonplace crossed Europe.
The US has suffered its ain devastating COVID-19 toll, signaling much than 46 cardinal cases and implicit 754,400 deaths, the highest worldwide, according to the John Hopkins University. More recently, COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations person been dropping nationally, though determination person been determination spikes.
Earlier this period the satellite passed the grim milestone of 5 cardinal COVID-19 deaths since the opening of the pandemic — a people the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called “a achy caller threshold.”
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