As the United States finally begins to welcome back vaccinated foreign visitors, the CDC is still cautioning American travelers against jetting off to certain high-risk destinations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released its latest revised travel guidance, and has raised four new destinations to its highest Level 4 COVID-19 alert, including the Netherlands and Cayman Islands.
The CDC categorizes destinations as having a Level 4 “Very High” rate of transmission if there are 500 or more new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents within a 28-day time period. Along with the Netherlands and Cayman Islands, the CDC has also elevated the Faroe Islands and Luxembourg up to Level 4 status.
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All four of the destinations were previously classified within the Level 3 “High” category.
The CDC currently recommends Americans avoid traveling to any Level 4 locale. Those that must go to Level 4 destinations should be fully vaccinated beforehand, and the health agency continues to advise unvaccinated Americans to avoid any international travel at the moment.
The CDC also moved four destinations to Level 3, including Sint Maarten and Thailand, an improvement from their previous Level 4 status. In addition, the CDC lowered Nepal and the United Arab Emirates from Level 3 down to Level 2 status, which indicates a “Moderate” level of COVID-19.
The U.S. reopened its borders to vaccinated international travelers this week, lifting a 20-month-long travel ban. The new policy allows vaccinated foreign visitors from 33 countries, including the U.K. and much of the E.U., to enter the U.S. via air and land travel without any quarantine requirement, as long as they provide proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test.
