• How did America become a pariah nation of super-spreaders? | Francine Prose | Opinion | The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/26/america-european-union-travel-coronavirus
    https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/66448a71f106adffa4094dc443e10a32eb8b5a14/0_349_5320_3191/master/5320.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali

    But now, it seems, the bad news about our political situation has once again intensified the terrible news about the virus. And it’s begun to appear that even if we wanted to travel to Europe – even if had the money and were willing to take that considerable risk – we might not be allowed to go.
    Over the past days, the European Union has announced it is considering excluding Americans from the list of travelers who will be admitted to EU countries when their borders open up on 1 July. It’s not a matter of politics, not a retaliation for the fact that Donald Trump has banned travelers from Europe from entering the United States, but a more commonsense scientific decision based solely on criteria having to do with health: America has done such a poor job of controlling the Covid-19 outbreak that our infection rate is increasing dramatically while that of most European nations (and others such as Cuba, China and Vietnam) is either remaining stable or decreasing. We’re simply too dangerous – too likely to bring the deadly virus along with the more welcome (and needed) tourist dollars.Clearly, it’s not a decision that will be made lightly. American tourists contribute heavily to the European economy, and a travel ban will significantly affect the ability of American companies to do business abroad. But unlike the US states that rushed to reopen too soon, that so clearly prioritized economic recovery over human life, the EU countries are saying they’d rather take the financial hit than see more of their citizens die. Of course, given the current state of our economy, it’s unlikely that all that many Americans will be able to afford that dream trip to Paris this summer, even if we were allowed entry into France. Still, it’s a strange feeling: in just a few months, we’ve become a pariah nation. We’ve gone from being admired for our spirit, our culture, our stalwart devotion to freedom despite our government’s persistent attempts to curtail those freedoms – and are now being viewed as a nation of super-spreaders, a danger to our own health and that of the hotel reception clerk, the waiter at the café, the two innocent grandmas with the bad luck to sit at a table too near the Americans sipping their morning cappuccini

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