Travelers walk through a loading area in the Arrivals Department at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Washington, USA April 12, 2021. REUTERS / Lindsey Wasson
The U.S. State Department said on Monday it would increase its “Do not Travel” lead to about 80 percent of countries worldwide, citing an unprecedented risk to travelers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This update will lead to a significant increase in the number of countries at level 4: Do not travel, to about 80% of the countries worldwide,” the department said in a statement.
The foreign ministry has already listed 34 out of about 200 countries as ‘Level 4: Do not travel’, including places such as Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania. Achieving 80% would mean adding almost 130 countries.
Most Americans have been prevented from traveling to much of Europe due to COVID-19 restrictions. Washington has banned almost all non-US citizens who have recently been to most of Europe, China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa.
The State Department said that the move does not imply a re-evaluation of the current health situations in some countries, but that it reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s travel advice system to focus more on existing epidemiological assessments (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). rely. ‘
CDC did not immediately comment.
Earlier this month, the CDC said that people who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could travel safely at low risk within the United States, but CDC director Rochelle Walensky discouraged Americans from doing so because of nationwide high cases of coronavirus.
“We know we are currently having an increasing number of cases. I will plead against general travel,” Walensky said. “We currently do not recommend traveling, especially not for individuals who have not been vaccinated.”
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