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THE US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday (12/28) added three travel destinations in Europe to the category of travel with the highest risk.
In its weekly update of COVID-19 travel advisories, the CDC advises against traveling to the following countries and places them in the ‘Level 4: COVID-19 Very High’ category. The three are Malta, Moldova and Sweden.
The CDC put the goal at Level 4 when more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents were registered in the past 28 days.
Sweden, a popular Scandinavian country, was previously at Level 3, considered ‘high risk. It even now joins fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway at Level 4’.
On Tuesday (12/28), Sweden began requiring a negative COVID-19 test result for foreigners to visit, regardless of vaccination status. The island nation of Malta, a Mediterranean favourite, was also at Level 3 last week. Off the radar of most tourists, the eastern European country of Moldova was previously in the ‘Unknown’ category.
Other big travel names that remain nestled in CDC Level 4 include: (1). France, (2). Germany, (4). Greece, (5). Ireland, (6). Italy, (7). Netherlands, (8). Portugal, (9). Spain, (10). Great Britain
In fact, the UK has been at Level 4 since 19 July. However, Europe is not the only continent with a popular tourist destination at Level 4.
Among other places that are also considered a ‘very high’ risk for traveling are: (1). Belize, (2). Jordan, (3). Singapore, (4). South Africa, (5). Turkey. In all, nearly 90 goals were rated Level 4 as of December 28.
Additional Level 3
The Level 3 category applicable to destinations that had between 100 and 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, saw two additions on Tuesday (12/28): (1). Argentina, (2). Brunei.
Argentina, a South American travel favorite that has taken a very cautious approach in allowing foreign visitors for much of the pandemic, was previously at Level 2. The move is good news for Brunei’s tiny Islamic sultanate, which is at Level 4.
Level 2, Level 1 and Unknown
Destinations that bear the title ‘Level 2: Moderate COVID-19’ have recorded 50 to 99 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days. That level saw three additions on Tuesday (12/28): (1). Cuba, (2). Gabon, (3). Guatemala.
Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, is at Level 3. Gabon, on Africa’s Atlantic Coast along the equator, and Guatemala, in Central America are also at Level 3, In the destination category ‘Level 1: COVID-19 Low’, less than 50 new cases per 100,000 population have been recorded over the past 28 days.
Only seeing one addition is the island states of São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of Gabon. On Tuesday, the CDC added three places to the “unknown” risk category for lack of information: (1). French Polynesia, (2). New Caledonia, (3). Suriname. In its broader travel guide, the CDC has recommended avoiding all international travel until people are fully vaccinated.
“Travelers who are fully vaccinated are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers may be at increased risk of acquiring and possibly spreading some variants of COVID-19,” the CDC said. [sources/photo special]
