Travellers in the US have been urged not to travel to several destinations after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention updated its list of countries and territories with a "very high" Covid-19 risk.
The CDC added 16 destinations to the highest risk category on Monday. Among the places added to the Level 4 category are popular holiday destinations Malta, Greece, Ireland and the US Virgin Islands.
These destinations join several other nations already listed as Level 4, including the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UK.
Guidance from the CDC recommends that travel to these destinations should be avoided. Anyone who must travel to any destinations in the Level 4 category should only go if they are fully vaccinated. As a whole, the CDC advises US citizens and residents not to travel internationally unless they have received both doses of a Covid-19 jab.
To be ranked as a Level 4 risk category, countries must have registered more than 500 cases of the coronavirus per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.
Countries added to CDC's Level 4 category
- Andorra
- Curacao
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guadeloupe
- Iran
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Kazakhstan
- Lesotho
- Libya
- Malta
- Martinique
- St Barts
- Saint Martin
- US Virgin Islands
There are now a total of 70 destinations included in the CDC's Level 4 category.
Three other categories exist: Level 3 includes countries with a high risk of Covid-19; Level 2 for destinations with a moderate risk of Covid-19; and Level 1, where the risk of Covid-19 is deemed low.
Travellers are advised to check the latest guidelines for any destination before booking travel and before travelling, as the situation is evolving.
Several other destinations are listed by the CDC as Level Unknown. This includes Lebanon, Syria, Monaco and the Canary Islands. It also includes several other island destinations that made it on to the UK's original Green List for travel and which have remained open for UK travellers, such as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Saint Helena.
Travel guidance from the CDC states that vaccinated people can now "travel at low risk to themselves within the US". It urges travellers to pay close attention to the Covid-19 situation at their destination before travelling.
What is the CDC’s latest guidance on masks?
US authorities also reminded travellers that wearing a face mask on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation was required, including at airports and train stations.
The CDC has recently come under fire for changing its stance on mask-wearing for those who are vaccinated against Covid-19.
In May, authorities said it was safe for people to go maskless while in indoor public spaces, if they were fully vaccinated. Last week, the advice changed with all people, vaccinated and unvaccinated, now advised to wear masks in places deemed to have substantial or high transmission of the virus.
This is in a bid to try to slow the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, said the CDC.
Masks should also be worn at schools and universities, with both teachers and students required to wear face masks even if they are fully vaccinated.