Brussels, Nov 9 (FN Agency) The European Union removed Singapore and Ukraine from the list of countries and territories for which Covid-19 travel restrictions were supposed to be lifted, the European Council said on Tuesday. “Following a review under the recommendation on the gradual lifting of the temporary restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU, the Council updated the list of countries, special administrative regions and other entities and territorial authorities for which travel restrictions should be lifted. In particular, Singapore and Ukraine were removed from the list,” the council said in a statement.
The decision came amid the spike in the Covid-19 cases in the two countries. Ukraine currently registers an average of 21,751 new infections per day, which represents 97percent of the peak reported on October 30. Average number of new Covid-19 cases reported each day in Singapore is estimated to be 2,851, representing 76 percent of the peak registered on October 29. On June 30, 2020, the European Council adopted special recommendations containing the list of countries and territories for which member states planned to gradually lift Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU. On May 20, 2021, the council updated the criteria to determine the countries for which the travel restrictions should be lifted. They cover the epidemiological situation, including the number of new cases per 100,000 people, the Covid-19 response, the reliability of the information and data sources.