By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission on Friday proposed a non-unusual formula of traffic lighting devices for EU member states to coordinate border controls and address the existing and confusing patch of coronavirus restrictions on travellers across Europe.
He said he was responding to the demands of the 27 countries of the European Union, which will have to approve the proposal, and citizens facing long border lines or who do not know where and under what situations they can make trips.
According to the proposal, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control would produce a weekly map of the region or country in green, orange or red.
The Commission recommends that no restrictions be imposed on travellers in green or orange areas, visitors to spaces may be invited to take a COVID-19 test.
Restrictions, whether quarantine or testing, would be suitable for those in red areas, the measures deserve to be the same for all red areas, whether internal and external in the country.
Countries do not know what steps to take.
The color code is based on two criteria: there are no restrictions for others in spaces with 50 COVID-19 infections or less consistent with 100,000 others in 14 days, or when the consistent percentage of positive tests is less than 3%, unless the number of instances exceeds 150.
Red zones refer to regions or countries with more than 100,000 instances or more than 50 instances if at least 3% of COVID-19 tests are positive.
An EU diplomat said some ambassadors, who discussed the matter on Wednesday, under pressure that EU countries lack fitness facilities or test and tracking systems that are also able to deal with COVID-19.The most vulnerable countries would then like to set stricter limits for visitors.
EU countries, many of which closed their national borders when the coronavirus pandemic hit, began to ease restrictions in June, but coordinated openness took place temporarily.
On Tuesday, Hungary closed its borders and exempted visitors from 3 neighbouring states, a resolution that the Commission described as discriminatory and illegal.
On Friday, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said his European counterparts sought to shorten mandatory quarantine for travelers returning from riskiesr areas of the block to a minimum of 10 days, which is now 14 days.
“We need to avoid a scenario in which the regulations of Europe and Europe are radically different.This creates uncertainty and creates unrest at the borders,” Spahn said.
“We agreed that when traveling from a high-risk area, a general quarantine of at least 10 days is desirable.Some Member States retain the option to go beyond 10 days.”
Germany defines a region as has at least 50 COVID-19 instances consistent with 100,000.
Many EU countries are experiencing an increasing number of coronavirus infections and have highly variable quarantine regulations for travelers returning from regions with many cases.
(Additional information through Joseph Nasr in Berlin; written through Philip Blenkinsop; editing through Mark Heinrich)