Italy announced tougher travel restrictions on US travelers. This makes Italy the first EU country to follow the EU’s recommendation to impose stricter travel restrictions on US travelers. The European Union removed the US from its safe list amid the latest surge across the country.
EU recommended member states to place stricter restrictions on non-essential travel. This is a reversal to their May announcement where US travelers were allowed back.
Italy wants US travelers to present a negative COVID test within three days of their arrival. This includes people who have been in the US in the last two weeks. Also, this applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
It’s a different story for those who are unvaccinated. Unvaccinated US travelers will need to quarantine for five days and show a negative COVID test. And after the quarantine, they’d need to get tested again even if the initial test is negative.
Also, tourists will need to fill out a locator form. This will make contact tracing easier in case there is a COVID breakout.
Travelers from other countries will also have to deal with updated travel restrictions. Travelers from Japan, Canada, and Israel will need to follow these stricter COVID protocols. According to Italy, the tougher travel restrictions will last at least until October 25.
Unfortunately, Americans traveling to Europe can expect confusing travel rules. Member states will still have the last say whether or not to follow the EU’s recommendations.
So far, 26 other EU states haven’t announced tougher restrictions for American travelers yet. However, countries like Belgium and Germany always had strict COVID travel restrictions for US visitors.
Italy had 5.6 million American visitors in 2019. US travelers make the largest group of international travelers in Italy after Germany. American travelers contributed an estimated $2.8 billion to their economy. In 2020, Italy lost approximately $140 billion when lockdowns started.
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