Can Americans still visit countries in the European Union, why does Ida hate New Orleans, and when can tourists visit the Cayman Islands?
E.U. Pauses Non-Essential Travel
The European Union has recommended a pause on all non-essential travel for visitors from the U.S. Originally the E.U. issued a recommendation to its member states in June that American visitors, and others, be allowed admission. Both recommendations were non-binding, so each country can continue to decide if they will allow visitors, if they will require a vaccine, require testing, or even require quarantine. The U.S. is not alone, recently the E.U. has removed Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, and North Macedonia from it’s Safe Travel list.
Hurricane Ida Hits New Orleans
Hurricane Ida has hit Louisiana with the strength of a Category 4 storm on the 16 year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. That is bizarre timing. Currently Ida is making it’s way through Mississippi as it works up towards Tennessee then towards New York. If models are correct, Ida will sweep across New York City sometime Thursday.
Hurricanes generally loose strength over land but this storm is still dangerous. The people of New Orleans know this all too well. The Big Easy is anything but right now, New Orleans and the surrounding area are currently without power. The electrical company Entergy New Orleans says it’s going to take at least three days to asses the damage. Currently almost 900,000 power outages have been reported. What is known is that all eight transmission lines that bring power into New Orleans have been knocked out. So if you were planning a trip to this area you might want to consider postponing while they work to get everything back on track.
Cayman Islands 5 Phase Reopening
Moving a little south to the Caribbean. While most islands have reopened to U.S. Visitors, the Cayman Islands took a different route and has kept it’s borders closed. The Caymans originally closed in March 2020. Currently under their 5 phase reopen plan the country expects to move to phase 4 on October 14, which will allow securely verified, fully vaccinated adult travelers to enter the country without quarantine. This will be followed by Phase 5 around November 18, which will allow unvaccinated children to enter the country accompanied by a vaccinated adult without having to quarantine. Once all 5 phases have been completed the country will conduct a through assessment to decide if they will allow qualified unvaccinated travelers to enter without quarantine.