The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added six new destinations to its highest Level 4 COVID-19 travel warning list, including Austria, Barbados and Croatia. The CDC releases updated travel advisories weekly, and recommends Americans avoid traveling to destinations within the Level 4 “Very High” risk category. Anyone who must travel to a Level 4 locale should be fully vaccinated beforehand, per the the health agency.
Locales are considered to have a “Very High” level of transmission if 500 or more new cases of COVID-19 are recorded per 100,000 people over a 28-day period.
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Along with Austria, Barbados and Croatia, the CDC also elevated Armenia, Latvia and New Caledonia to Level 4 status; all six countries were previously classified within the Level 3 category. In addition, the health agency lowered eight destinations from Level 4 to Level 3, including Argentina, France, Iceland, Lesotho, Morocco, Nepal, Portugal and South Africa. France and Iceland had both been at Level 4 status since early August.
The Caribbean isle of Saint Barthélemy was moved down to a lower warning level for the second week in a row; last week it was decreased from Level 4 to Level 3, and now it’s been lowered to Level 2.
The CDC advises any Americans who are traveling right now to not only be fully vaccinated, but to continue to follow government and local guidance including masks, testing and other restrictions, as well as to keep updated on the frequent changes to regulations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that unvaccinated Americans avoid international travel.
There are big changes to the United States’ travel policy starting next month, as in November, the U.S. will ease travel restrictions for vaccinated foreign visitors. The new policy will reopen air travel to visitors from 33 countries, including members of the E.U., U.K., South Africa and China.
