BRUSSELS—The European Union recommended halting nonessential travel from the U.S. because of the rise of Covid-19 cases, diplomats said Monday, ending a summer-vacation reprieve for American tourists.

The decision came amid the growing spread of the Delta variant in the U.S., where vaccination rates have also now fallen behind the average rates of shots in EU countries.

The EU travel list, which is reviewed every two weeks, isn’t binding on member states, but it has generally set the pattern for who can visit the bloc. The EU decided in June to add the U.S. to its safe list.

Still, member states retain control over all the rules for tourist travel, such as whether to impose quarantines on unvaccinated travelers and which certificates to accept as proof of having received a vaccine.

Announcing the decision, the EU stressed the decision doesn’t take away “the possibility for member states to lift the temporary restriction on nonessential travel…for fully vaccinated travelers.”

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Originally Appeared Here