CDC lowers South Africa’s COVID-19 travel risk level

The cdc has place SA on a lower risk level. Photo: Tim Mossholder / unsplash

Good news for South Africa: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has downgraded SA’s travel risk rating from level 3 to level 2.

The cdc has place SA on a lower risk level. Photo: Tim Mossholder / unsplash

CDC says SA is now a ‘Moderate risk’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has officially lowered South Africa’s travel risk level from a level 3 to a level 2, effective last week.

The CDC currently keeps a list of countries sorted into four levels of COVID-19 severity.

A Level 1 means Low risk
The Level 2 means Moderate risk
Level 3 equals to High risk
And level 4 designates Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel

The highest level, level 4, is reserved for special circumstances, such as an outbreak of a new variant or where an extremely high number of cases are recorded. There are currently no countries at level 4.

According to it’s website, the CDC states that it uses Travel Health Notices (THN) in order to alert travellers and other audiences to health threats around the world. They determine the COVID-19 risk level for a country based on the incidence rate, which is the cumulative number of new cases over the past 28 days per 100 000 people.

Prior to the downgrade last week, the CDC had placed South Africa on level 3 in May, which is reserved for high-risk countries, which travellers are generally advised to avoid.

According to Business Tech, the CDC has no significant travel advisories at level 2, they do recommend that travellers with a weakened immune system or who are at increased risk for severe disease delay their travel plans to South Africa and other level 2 countries.

US was South Africa’s top source market for international travel in 2021

International tourism is a huge source for South African economy. Photo: SA Tourism / flickr

The lower travel risk level is great news for the South African tourism industry, as a recent report showed that the U.S was South Africa’s top source market for international travel in 2021, officially overtaking the UK.

The report claimed that South Africa was a top bucket-list destination among U.S travelers, loved for its world-class travel, a wide variety of experiences, like exclusive game reserves, and affordable-luxury accommodation options.

Sundeeka Mungroo

Sundeeka Mungroo is a content writer, foodie and all-round adventure-seeker. She's a graduate of the University of South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, and has worked as a copywriter and editor in the digital marketing industry. Sundeeka currently writes for I Love South Africa and The South African. She lives in the beautiful Mother City and loves exploring all that South Africa has to offer.