CDC Updates Risk Levels for Several Destinations

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it has added several destinations to its Level 3 “high” risk travel warning category and shifted several other countries and territories to Level 2 and 1.

The CDC revealed that Colombia, Iraq, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Paraguay were all added to the high-risk category, which already includes Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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In total, there are around 115 destinations at Level 3 and another 25 in the Level 2 category.

The government agency also added seven countries to its “Level 2: COVID-19 Moderate” designation list, including Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Eswatini, Gabon, Lesotho, Mauritania and South Africa.

As for the “Level 1: COVID-19 Low” category, Indonesia, India and the Philippines were added to the list as part of the CDC updates. There are 35 countries and destinations in the low-risk category this week.

Earlier this week, the CDC also ended its voluntary COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, which was designed in theory to uphold best practices for the mitigation of coronavirus onboard vessels.

Instead, the CDC will “publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers, crew and communities going forward.” The CDC will now provide health and safety recommendations for the cruise industry in the same way it currently provides them for other travel sectors.

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