More than half of the countries in the European Union are in the new red classification for travel restrictions

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control published the new European map on travel restrictions within the countries of the European Union, and in the new classification 17 of the 27 countries of the European Union were placed, in addition to the United Kingdom , in the red classification.

The green ranking on the map included most of the regions of just three countries in the European Economic Area (Norway, Finland and Greece), while the orange color prevailed over five countries (Italy, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia).

Color classification was not applied to five countries (Austria, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland) due to “insufficient evidence data” for reasons that were not specified. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control did not immediately comment on this absence.

According to the recommendation of the center, restrictive measures can be imposed on travelers coming from orange or red (or gray) areas, but this does not include those from green areas.

And 16 European countries classified in red, including France, Spain and Poland, in addition to the United Kingdom.

The objective of developing a detailed map that includes the regions within each country is to identify the destinations that pose a threat, but it is not mandatory for the member states of the Union.

The map is based on two criteria to classify countries: the rate of new infections per 100,000 people during the last two weeks and the rate of positive tests (above or below 4 percent).

According to the understanding between European countries on Tuesday in Luxembourg, the map will be updated weekly.

For a country to be classified as green, it must register fewer than 25 new daily cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people for 14 days, and a positive test rate of less than 4 percent.

The country is classified in the red when the number of infections exceeded 50 per day per 100,000 people and the rate of positive tests is above 4 percent.

The orange classification includes regions that have fewer than 50 daily infections per 100,000 people, but where the percentage of positive tests exceeds 4 percent, or injuries that range between 25 and 150 per 100,000 people, but with a rate of positive tests less than 4 percent.