Daily COVID-19 cases may be trending down across the globe, but federal health officials advise U.S. travelers to avoid nearly 60% of international destinations because of the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added four Asian countries – Bhutan, Brunei, Iran and Malaysia – to its “level 4” travel health notice this week, a collection of destinations with “very high” levels of COVID-19.
“Avoid travel to these destinations,” the CDC says on its website. “If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.”
The four countries join 136 other destinations listed under the level 4 category, including popular tourist spots such as Jamaica, Germany and Mexico. Level 1, nations with low levels of COVID-19, lists six destinations.
CDC TRAVEL HEALTH NOTICE:The CDC warns US travelers to avoid more than 135 destinations. Do people care?
Larger countries are considered to have very high COVID-19 levels when they report more than 500 new cases per 100,000 people over the past 28 days. Destinations with a population of 100,000 or fewer must report more than 500 cumulative new cases over the past 28 days.
Other changes to the CDC’s travel guidance include:
- New Zealand moved from level 2 to level 3.
- Timor-Leste (East Timor) moved from level 1 to level 3.
- Namibia moved from level 4 to level 3.
- Kenya and Nigeria moved from level 3 to level 2.
- Madeira Islands moved from level 2 to an unknown level.
As of Tuesday, the CDC’s level 4 list includes:
- Albania
- Andorra
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bonaire
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- British Virgin Islands
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guernsey
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey (part of the U.K.)
- Jordan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liechtenstein
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Martinique
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- The Netherlands
- Niger
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Réunion
- Romania
- Russia
- St. Barts
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Martin
- St. Pierre and Miquelon
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Sint Maarten
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2022/02/23/cdc-travelers-should-avoid-most-destinations-due-covid-levels/6910427001/