The State Department said Monday it will extend its ‘no travel’ advice to about 80 percent of countries worldwide amid a COVID-19 spike. Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the State Department had already identified 34 countries as “Level 4: no travel”, including Chad, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania. Getting to 80 percent would add nearly 130 countries, the news center reported.
“This alignment better reflects the current, unpredictable and ever-evolving threat from covid-19,” the department said in an email, according to The Washington Post. “We continue to strongly recommend US citizens to reconsider all travel abroad and postpone their travel if possible.”
Most Americans were unable to travel to many European countries during the pandemic, and Washington has excluded nearly all non-US citizens who have recently been to much of Europe, China, Brazil, Iran, and South Africa due to variants of the coronavirus that health experts say are more contagious.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said earlier this month that people fully vaccinated against the virus can travel safely with low risk, but CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Five Global Concerns About Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pausing CDC: Half of U.S. Adults Have Received At Least One COVID-19 Vaccine Dose Healing the Deep Wounds of Racism Starting With Our Black Mothers and Babies MORE urged Americans not to do this.
“We know the number of cases is skyrocketing right now. I would be in favor of general travel,” Walensky said, according to Reuters. “We do not recommend travel at this time, especially for unvaccinated individuals.”