Following the U.S.’s lead, the European Union is set to temporarily ban Brazilians from entering its borders until the country’s Covid-19 epidemic improves. Following a meeting by the European Commission, the bloc will bar the entry of those traveling from countries where the pandemic is raging out of control. Considering Brazil is fast becoming the worst-affected country by Covid-19 in the world, it will certainly be at the top of the list.
The European Commission covers the 27 members of the EU, along with Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein — additional members of the Schengen Zone. The Commission recommended that states should lift internal border controls by June 15 and maintain temporary restrictions on non-essential travel until June 30, 2020, and has set out an approach to progressively lift restrictions afterward.
The EU will decide to allow or block visitors from countries depending on the number of new infections, whether the curve is going down or up, and government policies in combating the disease. With 806,000 cases (the second highest in the world) and 41,058 deaths (third-highest in the world), Brazil has become an international example of how to mismanage a pandemic.
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