U.S. Adds 4 New Countries to Highest COVID Travel Warning Level
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the State Department lowered their COVID-19 travel warnings for India and raised them for several other countries this week.
As the federal government continues to assess the risk of the virus' transmission around the world, the CDC and State Department each lowered their travel advisory for India to a "Level 2," indicating a "moderate" level of COVID-19 transmission and warning Americans to "exercise increased caution" when traveling there.
Cases in India have dropped significantly since their peak in May when more than 2 million cases were recorded on a weekly basis, according to the World Health Organization. Since July, weekly cases have hovered in the 200,000-range.
In April, the United States started restricting travel from India, adding the country to the list of nations from which non-essential travel for non-U.S. citizens is limited. The list includes several destinations around the world, including the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The White House has said that policy isn't changing just yet, citing the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, which first emerged in India, but added the administration is working on a plan to potentially welcome fully-vaccinated travelers in the future.
Kirill KukhmarTASS via Getty Images Tolmachevo Airport
In addition to India, the CDC raised its travel warning to the highest level for four destinations: Montenegro, Turkey, Dominica, and the British island of Jersey.
The "Level 4" warning, which indicates at least 500 cases per 100,000 people, tells Americans to "avoid travel" to those destinations.
The agency also lowered Chile, Mozambique, and Uruguay to "Level 3" and raised Kosovo and North Macedonia to the same level, indicating a "high" level of COVID-19 transmission, CNN reported.
The CDC has continually updated its travel advisory, adding countries to its highest warning level, like France, Israel, Greece, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and lowering others, like Canada.
Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.
