5 European Destinations Hit By Latest CDC Travel Warning As Omicron Continues To Spread

New travel warnings came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday as cases of the Omicron variant grow across the globe.

The CDC has moved five destinations in Europe, including tourist hotspot France, to its highest risk category for travel.

France, along with Andorra, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and Portugal, were moved to the Level 4 “very high” risk category, which the CDC warns should be avoided, especially for those who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

But the agency warned, “even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.”

All five European locations were previously listed as Level 3 “high” risk.

Other European locations in the Level 4 category include Germany, the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands. More than 80 countries are listed on the CDC’s Level 4 warning list.

The CDC also warned about travel to Jordan in the Middle East and Tanzania in East Africa, which also moved into the Level 4 “very high” risk category.

Jordan was previously a “high” risk location, while Tanzania jumped from an “unknown” destination, where there was a lack of reliable information about its COVID situation, to Level 4, CNN reports.

Places that fall into the Level 4 warning from the CDC have had more than 500 COVID cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

The new warnings from the CDC come as the world grapples with another variant of the coronavirus – Omicron.

On Nov. 26, the World Health Organization deemed the Omicron strain a “variant of concern” after it was first detected in South Africa.

More than 40 countries, including the U.S., have reported cases of the variant. Very little is known about the Omicron strain as scientists scramble to understand the transmissibility and severity of the virus mutation.

The U.S. implemented stricter international air travel rules on Monday, requiring a negative COVID test one day prior to departure to the U.S. It has also banned travel from eight southern African nations.

While the CDC’s Level 4 destinations have the worst COVID situations globally, the agency also warned about destinations with “high” risk levels or places with between 100 and 500 virus cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

Locations that moved to the Level 3 category include Colombia, Cuba, Grenada, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Five destinations were moved to the Level 2, or “moderate” risk, category by the CDC this week with the majority seeing improvements in their COVID situations. Locations moving included Bahrain, Cape Verde, Fiji, Mali, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Mali was the only nation that had worsening COVID cases.

Level 2 COVID is designated by 50 to 99 COVID cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

Djibouti in Africa moved down to Level 1, or “low” risk for COVID, with fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.