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CDC’s “Do Not Travel” Covid-19 List – New guidance doesn’t affect the federal order

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) modified its system that alerts on Covid-19 threats abroad on Monday, removing all nations from the highest risk level.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assesses international destinations based on Covid-19 dangers to visitors, and under its new methodology, zero destinations are classified as Level Four, or “do not travel.”

The new instruction has no bearing on the federal rule that requires all visitors to the United States to have a negative Covid test result before entering. The United States continues to require both vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers to undergo a negative test within one day of returning to the nation via plane or to submit evidence of recovery. Top airline executives have petitioned to have the condition eliminated.

On the testing requirements, Cindy Friedman, chief of the CDC’s Travelers’ Health Branch, said, “I don’t have any insights of any changes coming forth anytime soon, but we are always looking at that.”  

The agency will no longer rely on its highest designation for foreign countries solely on Covid-19 incidence or case count. The organization said in a statement that Level Four will now only be deployed in exceptional circumstances, such as countries with a fast climbing case trajectory or exceptionally high case counts, the development of a novel variety of concern, or healthcare infrastructure breakdown.

The new method, according to the agency, will provide travelers with a more immediate alert for when they shouldn’t travel to a specific destination, regardless of vaccination status.

“We’re trying to adjust our travel health notice system to make it as user friendly and as easy to understand as we can, given the information that we have from other countries around the world,” added Dr. Friedman. 

Travelers should still be up to date on their vaccines, which may include booster doses, according to the CDC. The need that passengers wear masks on public transit was extended until May 3 last week. On Monday, a federal judge in Florida ruled that the Biden administration’s Covid-19 mask requirement on public transit was unconstitutional. The mask mandate has also been criticized by airline executives and business groups.

More than 130 destinations, including France, Iceland, and the United Kingdom, were designated as Level Four as recently as early March. Travelers were advised to stay away from these locations.

Many nations that were previously on a Level-Four travel health notice, such as Costa Rica, France, and Iceland, have now been downgraded to Level Three. The 28-day incidence or case counts will continue to be the primary determinants of Levels Three, Two, and One.

Travelers with weakened immune systems or who are more likely to become very ill as a result of Covid-19 should discuss their risk with their clinician and consider delaying travel to destinations classified as Level Two or Three, which have “high” and “moderate” risk assessment levels, respectively.

Because so many countries were labeled as Level Four, many travel consultants claim their customers stopped considering the CDC’s advice.

“It would mean they’re not traveling at all if they’re not traveling to Level Four countries,” Victoria Zindell, owner of Luxury Ventures Travel in Corona del Mar, Calif., said of how her clients reacted to the CDC’s notice in recent months. She claims that the latest update would provide her clients a clearer picture of which nations they should avoid.

Keri Althoff, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, advises travelers to make their own assessment and risk assessment about the Covid-19 circumstances in international locales. She recommends examining immunization rates, masking protocols, any hotspots across the country, and hospitalization rates.

“The changes in these CDC guidelines, it’s important, but this is one piece of information that factors into your decision making,” Dr. Althoff said. 

Many countries have made it easier for air travelers to enter. Canada removed the requirement for fully vaccinated passengers to undergo entrance testing earlier this month. Entry testing is no longer required for all tourists, regardless of immunization status, in Jamaica and Denmark. In early May, Greece wants to remove all travel restrictions.

Image Credit: Getty

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