On Monday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added Mexico to its “Level Four: Very High” territories with COVID-19 cases, advising travelers against trips there. Mexico is now among roughly a dozen countries on the list of 130 countries and territories.
Also added Monday were Anguilla, French Guiana, Moldova and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Already on the list were Brazil, Singapore, Ecuador, Kosovo, Philippines and Paraguay.
The CDC also raised travel warnings for 11 countries and territories to “Level Three: High”. This level urges unvaccinated Americans to avoid non-essential travel to Bhutan, Brunei, Comoros, French Polynesia, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Liberia, Nepal and Oman. It now lists about 53 countries and territories at High.”
Reuters reports since mid-December, the U.S. government has added more than 60 countries and territories to its list of places to avoid, citing the Omicron coronavirus variant.
In the lower levels are 16 countries at “Level 2: Moderate” or “Level 1: Low” and 40 other destinations are listed as unknown. The United States agreed last month to lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries that were imposed in November over Omicron, including South Africa.
CNN reports that while the CDC does not include the United States in its list of advisories, it was “color-coded at Level 4 on January 31 on the agency’s map of travel risk levels.” The CDC also advises against any international travel “until you are fully vaccinated.”