COVID Travel Update: More Than 100 Destinations Now ‘Very High’ Risk Due To Omicron Surge

Following the latest travel advisory update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100 destinations are now listed in its highest Level 4 category, adding to the list of locations where even fully vaccinated Americans are warned to avoid traveling to as the risk for contracting COVID-19 is “very high.”

On Tuesday, the CDC added 22 places to its Level 4 “very high” risk list, unlike last week which only saw Canada and the Caribbean island of Curacao moved to the category.

The update included moves by Albania, Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bolivia, the British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Egypt, Grenada, Guyana, Israel, Panama, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sint Maarten, Suriname, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Uruguay.

All of the locations have seen their COVID situations worsen and were deemed Level 4 by the CDC due to “risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.”

The CDC determines that a destination is Level 4 when it has more than 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents reported in the past 28 days.

Of the 22 locations that the CDC moved to Level 4, 19 had previously been listed as Level 3. The British Virgin Islands was Level 1 “low” risk, while Grenada and São Tomé and Príncipe were Level 2 “moderate” risk as of last week, CNN reports.

The Level 4 additions take the total category to over 100 destinations, including several countries in Europe and cruise ship travel.

Also on Tuesday, the CDC moved 22 locations to its Level 3 “high” risk category, with the additions of Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Jamaica, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Paraguay, the Philippines, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sint Eustatius, Togo and Uganda.

Level 3 destinations are determined by the CDC when they have between 100 and 500 virus cases per 100,000 residents confirmed in the past 28 days.

While the moves to Level 3 saw Malawi and Mozambique improve from Level 4, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Sint Eustatius, Paraguay, the Philippines and Uganda saw huge jumps from the Level 1 “low” risk category as their COVID situations worsened.

Costa Rica, Cuba, Gabon, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Togo, Fiji and Kuwait were previously listed as Level 2 “moderate” risk locations by the CDC.

The CDC has also placed four new destinations in the Level 2 “moderate” risk category, with the additions of Djibouti, India, Kosovo and Montserrat. All four locations were Level 1 last week.

The CDC deems a place Level 2 when it has between 50 and 99 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents recorded in the past 28 days.

No new additions were made to the Level 1 “low” category, but one update was made to the “unknown” category, where unreliable information is provided on a location’s COVID situation. Brunei was added to the “unknown” risk category, where the CDC warns against traveling to this destination no matter a person's vaccination status.