This week the U.S. State Department announced its “Do Not Travel” guidance would be expanded to cover about 80% of countries worldwide. The statement referred to an “unprecedented risk to travelers” from the pandemic.
This update will result in a significant increase in the number of countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80% of countries worldwide
US State Department
According to Reuters, the State Department had already included 34 out of about 200 countries as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” including places like Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania. Bringing that percentage to 80% of countries worldwide would mean adding roughly 130 countries.
The decision does not imply a reassessment of current health situations in some countries. It “reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s Travel Advisory system to rely more on (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s) existing epidemiological assessments.”
Authorities in the US have barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in most of Europe, China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa. For their part, most Americans are currently not allowed from traveling to much of Europe
The State Department tweeted on April 19th that, “As travelers face ongoing risks due Covid-19, we have updated our Travel Advisories to better reflect CDC’s science-based Travel Health Notices.” The White House has given no timeline for when it might ease those restrictions.
We considered logistics like testing availability and travel restrictions for U.S. citizens
US State Department
According to Reuters, the CDC announced earlier this month that people who are fully vaccinated can safely travel within the United States at “low risk”. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky discouraged Americans, nonetheless, from doing so because of high coronavirus cases nationwide. “We know that right now we have a surging number of cases. I would advocate against general travel overall, especially for unvaccinated individuals” Walensky said.
