India comes under ‘Level 1’ of the latest CDC travel warning list News The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled its new system for travel risk assessments on Monday. Many European nations are now considered at “high” risk for Covid-19, along with other marquee destinations around the world. The new system places destinations into the following categories: • Level 3: High risk for Covid-19 • Level 2: Moderate risk for Covid-19 • Level 1: Low risk for Covid-19 • Unknown: Not enough data to assess risk The big change comes at Level 4, which was regularly used for places considered “very high” risk for travellers. Level 4 will no longer be routinely used for that purpose. Instead, a Level 4 notice is reserved, in the new system, for only special circumstances. Those circumstances include “extremely high case counts, the emergence of a new variant of concern or healthcare infrastructure collapse,” the CDC said. “Other factors that may be considered include information such as vaccination rate and hospitalization rate.” The CDC did not assign any destinations to Level 4 — “Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel” — on its Travel Recommendations website page on Monday. Levels 3, 2 and 1 will still be primarily determined by the previous formula of 28-day incidence or case counts. CDC’s Level 3 In the new system, the Level 3 “high” risk category applies to destinations that have had more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. Among the countries in Level 3 is France, which was the most visited country in the world in 2019 before the pandemic, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization. But other stalwarts of the European travel scene are in the “high” risk category, too. On April 18, they included: • Germany • Greece • Ireland • Italy • Portugal • Spain • United Kingdom It’s not just European favourites that find themselves on this rebooted list. Other popular travel spots around the world also at Level 3 include: • Brazil • Canada • Egypt • Malaysia • Mexico • South Korea • Thailand In all, there were just over 120 destinations at Level 3 late Monday afternoon. The CDC reports on roughly 235 places total. The CDC advises that you be up-to-date with your Covid-19 vaccines before travelling to a Level 3 destination. “Up-to-date” includes not only the full initial vaccinations but any boosters for which you’re eligible. The CDC does not include the United States in its list of advisories. Level 2 Destinations carrying the “Level 2: Covid-19 Moderate” designation report 50 to 100 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. It had only 11 entries on Monday, scattered in spots around the globe. The most notable names were: • Bolivia • Peru • South Africa • Sri Lanka • Turks and Caicos Islands Level 1 This level is dominated by destinations in Africa and had almost 55 entries in the first week under the new system. To be in “Level 1: Covid-19 Low,” a destination must have 49 or fewer new cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days. Some of the noteworthy places include: • Colombia • Dominican Republic • India • Jamaica • Kenya • Philippines • Senegal Unknown Finally, there are destinations for which the CDC has an “unknown” risk because of a lack of information. Usually, but not always, these are small, remote places or places with ongoing warfare or unrest. The Azores, Cambodia and Nicaragua are among the locations currently listed in the unknown category. The CDC advises against travelling to these places precisely because the risks are unknown. Content source: CNN Travel Share this:FacebookX