US travel: CDC removes all countries from “do not travel” list

LAX airport in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Rachael Purdy / flickr

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its international COVID-19 travel advisory policy on Monday, 18 April, dropping all countries from its Level 4 US travel restrictions list.

LAX airport in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Rachael Purdy / flickr

As of Monday, 18 April 2022, the CDC has officially dropped all countries from its “Level 4” category, which is now labelled “Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel.”

According to the Washington Post, around 120 destinations now have a Level 3 advisory – this includes Australia, Italy, the UK and many other popular European countries – for “high” levels of the Covid-19, while 12 countries are at Level 2. A further 55 were placed on Level 1, the CDC’s lowest-risk level.

In a statement last week, the CDC explained what the new system means.

“To help the public understand when the highest level of concern is most urgent, this new system will reserve Level 4 travel health notices for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or health-care infrastructure collapse,”

The other three lower-level warnings will remain to be determined mostly by 28-day Covid-19 incidence or case counts.

“With this new configuration, travellers will have a more actionable alert for when they should not travel to a certain destination (Level 4), regardless of vaccination status, until we have a clearer understanding of the Covid-19 situation at that destination,” the statement said.

US travel: “Americans are not dissuaded from travelling”

In a letter to the White House coronavirus response co-ordinator last month, the US Travel Association called for an end to “avoid travel” advisories, among other pandemic travel practices.

“The CDC should ensure that Americans are not dissuaded from travelling to any place with Covid-19 case rates that are equal to, or less than, the case rates prevailing in the US,” the letter read.

ALSO READ: Bye-bye masks? US prepares for the end of crucial COVID-19 mandate

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.