The US Department of State issued several more travel advisories yesterday as part of its efforts to keep Americans safe abroad.
The updates feature both advice from the State Department about threats that travelers may face, as well as a warning about the level of Covid-19 in the country from the CDC, keeping travelers well informed about the destinations they are planning to visit. Here’s a look at which countries received updates yesterday.
These countries were classified as “Level 1” by the State Department. This indicates that there are no specific threats that travelers should be aware of, and that they should exercise normal precautions in these destinations. However, their CDC-defined levels of Covid-19 vary from low to moderate. They are as follows:
Armenia, Andorra, Austria, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Curacao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Estonia, Finland, French Guiana, Georgia, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Malta, Montenegro, Montserrat, North Macedonia, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Saba, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, The Gambia, Zambia
The following countries have Level 2 travel advisories, but have varying levels of Covid-19. They are:
Albania, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Netherlands, Republic of the Congo, Serbia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Turkey, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe
Several countries were designated as Level 3 in the most recent update, which asks travelers to reconsider travel. Many of these countries had pages that simply warned travelers of the threat of crime and CDC-adjudicated high levels of Covid-19. These countries were:
El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras and Jamaica
The pages of other Level 3 countries simply asked travelers to reconsider travel due to Covid-19 related restrictions and high levels of Covid-19. These countries were:
Cayman Islands, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Slovenia
Other Level 3 countries had more than one issue that travelers should be aware of. These were as follows:
Azerbaijan: reconsider travel to Azerbaijan due to Covid-19 related restrictions and terrorism concerns; moderate levels of Covid-19 according to CDC.
Colombia: reconsider travel due to crime and terrorism, and exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and kidnapping; low level of Covid-19 according to CDC
Democratic Republic of Congo: reconsider travel due to crime and civil unrest, CDC states low level of Covid-19
Kosovo: reconsider travel due to Covid-19 related conditions and risk of teorrorism, along with high levels of Covid-19 according to Nicaragua: travelers face risk of limited healthcare availability, arbitrary enforcement of laws and crime, whilst the CDC states it has an unknown level of Covid-19
Uganda: risk of crime and terrorism, but CDC states low levels of Covid-19
Finally, just eight countries were moved into Level 4, the most severe of the travel advisory levels which explicitly asks travelers not to visit that country. Their pages warn of the following:
Belarus: Do not travel due to the arbitrary enforcement of laws, the risk of detention, the Russian military attack on neighboring Ukraine, and the buildup of Russian military in Belarus along the border with Ukraine. The CDC also states it has a high level of Covid-19.
Haiti: Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, and civil unrest. The country has a low level of Covid-19
Moldova: Do not travel to Moldova due to armed conflict in neighboring Ukraine, and the unresolved conflict between the breakaway region of Transnistria and the central government. The country has a level of Covid-19.
Russia: various reasons regarding the invasion of Ukraine, see here for full details
Somalia: Do not travel to Somalia due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health issues, kidnapping, and piracy. High level of Covid-19.
South Sudan: Do not travel to South Sudan due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict. High level of Covid-19
Sudan: Do not travel to Sudan due to civil unrest. Unknown level of Covid-19
Ukraine: Do not travel to Ukraine due to Russian military invasion and Covid-19
