This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
Kenya's Travel Ban to Europe Continues ¶
As European Union nations prepare to reopen their borders on July 1, Kenya remains on the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the 31 European countries.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's efforts to revive the tourism sector, which has suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have not yet led to Kenya's inclusion on the 'safe list.'
The European Union's decision to lift internal border restrictions for its own citizens starting July 1 is aimed at saving the European tourism season. However, this will only apply to countries deemed 'safe' from the highly-contagious coronavirus.
Kenya's high number of cases and deaths, with 6,190 cases and 144 deaths as of June 29, has kept it off the list. The country's testing capacity has increased daily, but the numbers have been on the rise in June.
According to SchengenVisaInfo.com, only citizens from 14 countries will be allowed to enter Europe, including Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay.
The ban has also exempted citizens from 'unsafe countries' who are already living in Europe. China will be added to the 'safe list' if it offers an equal travel deal for European Union nationals.
Citizens from the United Kingdom have been exempted from the temporary travel restriction and will be treated like European Union nationals until the end of the Brexit transition period. Americans, however, have been banned from traveling to the EU nations due to the high number of coronavirus cases in the country.
