More than 20 countries have been moved to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's level four list, deemed the highest-risk level for travel, owing to the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
Live updates: follow the latest news on Omicron
The 22 countries moved to the very high-risk list include Australia, Bahrain, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Albania, Argentina and Uruguay. By contrast, last week only two nations were moved to the very high-risk list.
Canada, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Ireland, Turkey and the UK are also on the level four list, which includes more than 100 countries in total.
The CDC places destinations on the very high-risk level four list when more than 500 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 residents are registered in the past 28 days. The US federal agency advises against travel to countries on the list.
“Do not travel internationally until you are fully vaccinated,” reads the CDC website. “Getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself from severe disease, slow the spread of Covid-19, and reduce the number of new variants. CDC encourages you [to] get a Covid-19 vaccine booster dose if you are eligible. People who are not fully vaccinated should follow additional recommendations before, during and after travel."
The 22 countries added to the CDC's level four or very high-risk travel list:
- Albania
- Argentina
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bermuda
- Bolivia
- British Virgin Islands
- Cape Verde
- Egypt
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Israel
- Panama
- Qatar
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Sint Maarten
- Suriname
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Uruguay
An additional 20 countries were added to the CDC's level three, or high-risk, list. These include Uganda, Kuwait, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Cuba.
Also on the level three list are the UAE, Iran, Morocco, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.
"Make sure you are fully vaccinated before travelling to these destinations," the CDC advises of level three destinations. "Unvaccinated travellers should avoid non-essential travel to these destinations."
