US CDC to shrink COVID-19 international avoidance list
Air travellers wearing protective face masks, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, walk at JetBlue Terminal 5 at JFK International airport in New York, U.S., November 16, 2021. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it will revise its COVID-19 travel recommendations for international destinations and shrink the number of countries the government recommends avoiding.
About 90 countries and regions, including most of Europe, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel and Australia are currently rated by CDC as “Level 4: Very High” and the CDC recommends Americans, even if vaccinated, to avoid travel to those countries.
“This new system will reserve Level 4 travel health notices for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts,” the CDC said in a statement, adding that it will be effective Monday.
Last month, industry group U.S. Travel urged the CDC to end “avoid travel” advisories for all vaccinated individuals and urged the Biden administration to avoid the future “use of travel bans from specific countries.”
The letter added that the “CDC should ensure that Americans are not dissuaded from traveling to any place with COVID-19 case rates that are equal to, or less than, the case rates prevailing in the U.S.”
Article continues after this advertisementThe CDC in recent weeks has been dropping a number of countries from the “Level 4” rating including Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Bolivia, Botswana, and Haiti.
Article continues after this advertisementAirlines and other travel groups have been pressing the Biden administration to lift the pre-departure COVID negative test requirements for international air travelers — as many other countries have done.
Airline say the testing rules dissuade some Americans from international flights because of the cost of testing and the fear of being stranded abroad if they contract COVID. Administration officials say the issue has been under review in recent weeks but health officials have announced no changes.
RELATED STORIES
US CDC lowers risk level for travel to the Philippines
U.S. CDC urges Americans to wear ‘most protective mask you can’
US CDC scraps COVID-19 warning for cruise travel after 2 years
US CDC backs previous advice for 5-day isolation; no test needed
For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.