The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised 12 new destinations to the highest Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory warning, including Mexico, Brazil, Chile and the Philippines. The CDC recommends Americans avoid traveling to any country categorized as Level 4, and that anyone who must travel to these destinations be fully vaccinated beforehand.
The health agency also raised the Caribbean islands of Anguilla and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Level 4, in addition to Ecuador, French Guiana, Kosovo, Moldova, Paraguay and Singapore. All of the destinations, except for French Guiana, which was last at “unknown” status, were previously classified as Level 3.
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The CDC assigns a destination with Level 4 status if there are 500 or more new COVID-19 cases recorded per 100,000 residents within a 28-day period. The health agency has been raising a large number of countries to Level 4 status amid the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant over the last few months; last week, the CDC elevated 15 destinations to Level 4, and the week prior, moved a staggering 22 destinations to the highest Do Not Travel warning level.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also moved 11 countries to Level 3 status this week, which the agency defines as between 100 and 500 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over 28 days. All of the destinations (Bhutan, Brunei, Comoros, French Polynesia, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Liberia, Nepal and Oman) were previously at either Level 1, Level 2 or “unknown” status.
All international travelers returning to the United States are currently required to provide a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than one day prior to travel, regardless of vaccination status.
