The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) boosted a Caribbean hotspot to its "high" risk travel category on Monday amid a growing number of destinations that have seen their COVID cases rise in recent weeks.

As COVID cases worsened in the Dominican Republic, the CDC bumped the country up to Level 3 after it was previously listed as a Level 2 “moderate” risk.

Along with the Dominican Republic’s move, Kuwait was also listed with a Level 3 warning for rising COVID cases. Kuwait was previously listed in the Level 1 “low” risk category.

Level 3 is now the CDC’s highest travel risk category, with Level 4 “very high” risk now reserved for extreme circumstances such as a massive increase in COVID cases, an outbreak of a new variant of the virus, or a breakdown in a location’s healthcare system. No destinations are currently listed at Level 4.

A Level 3 nation has more than 100 COVID cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

Other nations listed in the Level 3 category include much of Europe, locations in the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico. About 115 locations are listed as Level 3 out of the approximately 235 nations the CDC is currently monitoring.

The CDC advises American travelers to be up to date with their COVID vaccines before visiting a Level 3 nation, adding that “Even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, you may still be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19.”

Also seeing changes on Monday were four locations that moved into the Level 2 “moderate” risk category – Colombia, Iraq, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

A Level 2 nation has between 50 and 100 COVID cases per 100,000 residents reported in the past 28 days.

Colombia, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia all saw an increase in their virus case count as they were all previously listed in the Level 1 “low” risk category, moving up to Level 2 as their COVID situation worsened. Russia, however, fell to Level 2 from a previous Level 3 warning from the CDC.

Currently, there are about 20 locations listed in the Level 2 category.

The CDC’s Level 1 “low” risk category saw no changes on Monday as it is determined as having 49 or fewer COVID cases per 100,000 residents reported over the past 28 days. Countries listed in the Level 1 category include Fiji, Moldova, Tanzania, Cuba, China, and India.

Only one destination was added to the CDC’s “unknown” risk category with the addition of Djibouti.

The “unknown” risk category is reserved for locations that have unreliable information about their COVID status due to ongoing warfare or unrest in the country. The “unknown” category also includes French Polynesia, Macau, the Canary Islands, Ukraine, Venezuela, and the Maldives.

The Dominican Republic is reliant on tourism and arrivals have recovered to about 80 percent of pre-pandemic numbers
The Dominican Republic is reliant on tourism and arrivals have recovered to about 80 percent of pre-pandemic numbers AFP / Daniel SLIM
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