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| A waiter wears a protective face mask as he serves wine to Australian tourists after the easing of restrictions imposed to control the spread of COVID-19, at the terrace restaurant at the Catalonia Ronda hotel, in front of a bullring at sunset in downtown Ronda, southern Spain, June 29. Reuters |
By Jung Min-ho
The European Union (EU) has reopened its borders to travelers from 14 "safe countries," including Korea, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 27-member bloc decided to allow leisure trips from Wednesday (local time) as it struggles to revive economic activity while fending off new waves of the disease.
The 13 others are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Japan, Georgia, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.
Visitors from China, where the new coronavirus first emerged late last year, will be allowed on the condition that Beijing allows in EU visitors.
The United States, where more than 2.7 million people were reported to have been infected, was excluded from the list.
But with the virus still raging in much of the world, it is unclear whether the EU decision will excite many Koreans. Government rules here require overseas travelers to quarantine themselves for 14 days on arrival, unless their travel is "essential."
