The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday urged Americans to avoid travel to France, Jordan, Portugal and Tanzania, citing COVID-19 concerns and placing the nations on its highest travel alert level, Level 4.
U.S. CDC URGES AMERICANS TO AVOID TRAVEL TO FRANCE, PORTUGAL, TANZANIA, JORDAN OVER COVID-19 -STATEMENT
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) December 6, 2021
According to 2019 figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, France was the world’s top destination for international tourist arrivals prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CNN reported.
The nation confirmed Monday that it would close nightclubs ahead of the holidays and strengthen social distancing requirements in response to the emergent omicron variant of the coronavirus, but indicated that lockdowns and curfews are not necessary at this point, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told the news outlet that nearly 90% of the eligible population, or about 52 million people, have been vaccinated, indicating that the nation is more prepared for the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic than during its four previous outbreaks.
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Prior to Monday’s advisory, Tanzania’s status had been rated “unknown” due to insufficient reliable information, while Jordan and each of the European locales had been designated only “Level 3″ or “High” risk, CNN reported.
The CDC now lists 83 destinations at “Level 4: Very High” classification, adding Andorra, Cyprus and Liechtenstein to the highest travel advisory level, as well, Reuters reported.
Destinations categorized by the CDC as “COVID-19 Very High” Level 4 have had more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, CNN reported.
According to the agency, anyone who must travel to locations designated as Level 4 must be fully vaccinated.
“Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers might be at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading some Covid-19 variants,” the CDC stated.
Meanwhile, the U.S. imposed new rules, effective Monday, that require all arriving international air travelers to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel, as opposed to the previous 72-hour window, Reuters reported.
For a complete list of the shifts in risk level for international travel, read the complete CNN reported.
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