Yanks, stay home: All the countries banning Americans from travelling
If 2020 wasn’t bad enough, if you’re American, your passport is worthless now. Several countries are banning Americans from their countries. Citing the US government’s poor containment of COVID-19, these countries are putting the phrase “Yanks, stay home” into action.
The entire European Union
That is, 22 countries have shut their doors on American travelers. They cite the high rate of COVID infection from the States as the reason why. That high infection rate is 2.5 million yanks (that is about 1% of the total US population) and over 130,000 dead since March.
Europe worked hard to get their numbers down. They stayed under stricter quarantines than the US did. They still wear masks in public. Plus, in some countries like Germany, if a town has a certain number of new cases per 1000 residents, that town goes into strict lockdown for two weeks. Unlike yanks, the EU takes this virus seriously.
However, yanks aren’t alone in being banned from the EU. The EU also barred travelers from Russia, India, and Brazil which are all hotspots for COVID-19. While some EU countries may be lifting restrictions for some US travelers, it’s on a week-by-week basis. Given the rising COVID cases in the US, it doesn’t look good.
The UK
The UK is leaving the European Union, and just like the EU, they’re keeping their restrictions against US travelers. However, it’s not a total ban on the yanks. Visitors from the US must isolate themselves for two weeks before entering the UK if they want to go there.
Mexico
In a twist of delicious irony, the country that current US President Donald Trump is trying to build a wall around “and make them pay for it” won’t let Americans in. Mexico and the US have a mutual agreement to restrict travel, banning all nonessential travel between countries.
Canada
Right now, the US and Canada are in a similar agreement between the US and Mexico. Travel restrictions might lift at the end of the month, but that’s a big maybe. As COVID cases spike again across many states in the US, that maybe is looking more like a someday, but not for yanks in the next month or even two.
Australia
There isn’t a total ban on American travel to Australia, but the land down under is restricting all international arrivals to up to 500 per week at each of their three international airports. There are also stringent requirements for Australian nationals choosing to return to Australia, including mandatory quarantine.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s borders are closed to all foreign nationals, including Americans. Due to their handling of COVID, they have no new cases and no deaths and would like to keep it that way. Schools are re-opening, domestic travel is free. That’s because unlike yanks, kiwis stayed home, wore masks, and listened to health experts.
