The Bahamas and Morocco are now among the highest-risk destinations for travelers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) regularly revised travel advisories list.
People should avoid traveling to locations designated with the “Level 4: COVID-19 Very High” notice, the CDC recommends. Anyone who must travel should be fully vaccinated first, the agency advises.
Six destinations moved to the Level 4 list on Aug. 23:
- Bahamas
- Haiti
- Kosovo
- Lebanon
- Morocco
- Sint Maarten
The CDC’s evolving list of travel notices ranges from Level 1 (“low”) to Level 4 (“very high”).
Destinations that fall into the “COVID-19 Very High” Level 4 category have had more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, according to CDC criteria. The Level 3 category applies to destinations that have had between 100 and 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.
All six destinations newly added to Level 4 were previously ranked at “Level 3: COVID-19 High.”
The Bahamian prime minister implemented a pandemic curfew on Saturday, Aug. 21, in place from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. in mainland Exuma, Abaco and the Abaco Cays, and North, Central, and South Andros. Amid the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck the southwest of Haiti Aug. 14, the country’s prime minister reminded citizens to be conscious of COVID-19 risk during recovery efforts.
New Level 3 Destinations
Ten other destinations moved to the “Level 3: COVID-19 High” category on Monday. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, and Liechtenstein moved up from Level 1. Bulgaria and Serbia relocated from Level 2. Greenland and Guernsey changed from “level unknown.” And Paraguay moved down from Level 4.
CDC guidance for destinations on Level 3 urges unvaccinated travelers to avoid nonessential travel to those locations.
In its broader travel guidance, the CDC has recommended avoiding all international travel until you are fully vaccinated.
“Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers might be at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading some COVID-19 variants,” the agency said.
You can view the CDC’s risk level of any destination on its travel recommendations page.