US to widen ‘Do Not Travel’ advice to include around 80 per cent of countries

FILE PHOTO: First U.S. commercial flight of a Boeing 737 MAX, since regulators lifted a 20-month grounding in November, lands in New York
REUTERS
Leah Sinclair20 April 2021

America will boost its “Do Not Travel” guidance to include about 80 per cent of countries around the world, the US State Department has said.

Some 34 out of about 200 countries are already listed as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” including Kosovo, Kenya, Chad, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania.

Getting to 80 per cent would mean adding nearly 130 countries.

The State Department said the move does not indicate a reassessment of current health situations in some countries, but rather “reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to rely more on (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s) existing epidemiological assessments.”

If travellers decide to visit countries that have a Level 4 advisory, the State Department recommends they read travel information about the dangers of visiting high-risk countries.

Most Americans were already barred from visiting much of Europe because of Covid-19 restrictions.

The White House has given no date for when those restrictions might ease.

Earlier this month, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely travel within the United States at “low risk” but CDC Director Rochelle Walensky deterred Americans from doing so because of high coronavirus cases.

“We know that right now we have a surging number of cases,” Ms Walensky said.

“I would advocate against general travel overall. We are not recommending travel at this time, especially for unvaccinated individuals.”

It comes as interest in travelling outside of the US continues to rise as more countries open their borders to Americans.

On Monday, Greece started to allow US citizens back into the country if they have proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test.

United Airlines have also announced new flights to Greece, Iceland and Croatia starting in July.

Fellow US carrier Delta recently shared plans to increase flights from three US destinations to Iceland, calling it “the first destination in Europe to permit entry to fully vaccinated Americans”.

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