The Portland Medium
Portlanders with connections to Europe are finally beginning to see an increase in travel there. The United States has reopened its borders to international travelers Nov 8. Before then no one could enter due to the surge of COVID 19 cases. In March 2020 as we were going deep into quarantine, international travelers were banned from the trump administration. Officials went on to clear that ban 18 months later.
Remedies for getting to the United States? Good question, fully vaccinated with proof or a negative test 24 hours before travel. Accepted vaccines include the three approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson as well as those approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization: Sinopharm, and the Astra-Zeneca vaccines produced by SKBio and the Serum Institute of India.
Exemptions? Well there are always mechanisms, very few though: travelers from about 50 countries with exceptionally low vaccination rates, which include some of the world’s poorest nations, many of those in Africa and children under the age of 18; but will still have to present a negative test.
Also, certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, those with medical contraindications to the vaccines, and those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons are exempt. Children under two years old will not need to test, and accommodations will be allowed for people who have documented their recovery from the virus within the last 90 days.
Although experiencing COVID 19 drops, cases in the US and Europe are at an all time high. Those in Portland with family in Europe are pushing to reunite with families and friends from a almost 2 year travel ban.
When many think of Europe, most in this country never think of the many connections to the U.S. and the different races that are there. There are millions of Blacks living in all parts of Europe. Many live there as a result of past colonization whether from Jamaica, Algeria, Congo, etc.. Whatever the case, many Portlanders will be happy to reconnect with Europe.
