CDC moves Sweden, two more European countries to its highest travel category
(CNN) – On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added three destinations in Europe – from its chilly northern climate to its sun-drenched south – to its highest travel category for travel.
In its weekly update of the Covid-19 Travel Advice, the CDC advised against travel to the following countries and placed them in the “Level 4: Covid-19 Very High” category:
Malta
• Moldova
• Sweden
The CDC places a level 4 destination when more than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been registered in the last 28 days.
The island nation of Malta, a Mediterranean favorite, was also at level 3 last week.
Far off the radar of most tourists, the Eastern European nation of Moldova had previously been in the “Unknown” category. The CDC places destinations in that category when it does not have enough reliable data to make an assessment.
Europe’s continuing misery
In another worrying sign of Europe’s Covid-19 situation, the CDC did not move any destinations on that continent to a lower level in the past week.
Other major travel names that remain at CDC Level 4 include:
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Spain
• United Kingdom
In fact, the UK has been at level 4 since 19 July.
However, Europe is not the only continent with popular tourist destinations at level 4. Among the other places that are also considered to have a “very high” risk of travel are:
• Belize
• Jordan
• Singapore
• South Africa
• Turkey
Level 3 supplement
A general picture of the Obelisco de Buenos Aires in Argentina’s largest city.
Ricardo Ceppi / Getty Images
The Level 3 category – which applies to destinations that have had between 100 and 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 28 days – received two additions on Tuesday:
• Argentina
• Brunei
Argentina, a South American travel favorite that took a very cautious approach to admitting foreign visitors during most of the pandemic, had previously been at level 2.
The move was good news for the small Islamic sultanate of Brunei, which had been at level 4.
Level 2, Level 1 and unknown
Destinations bearing the designation “Level 2: Covid-19 Moderate” have seen 50 to 99 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 28 days. That level received three additions on Tuesday:
• Cuba
Gabon
• Guatemala
Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, had been located at level 3. Gabon, on the Atlantic coast of Africa along the equator, and Guatemala, in Central America. had also been at level 3,
In the category “Level 1: Covid-19 Low” destinations, less than 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been logged in the last 28 days. It saw only one addition – the island nation São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of Gabon.
Finally, there are destinations, as mentioned above, for which the CDC has an “unknown” risk due to lack of information. Usually these are small, remote places. On Tuesday, the CDC added three seats to this category:
• French Polynesia
• New Caledonia
• Suriname
The CDC even warns fully vaccinated travelers to go to destinations without reliable statistics on the current situation with Covid-19.
“Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to receive and spread Covid-19. However, international travel involves additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers may be at increased risk of getting and possibly spreading certain Covid-19 variants,” the agency said.
Another tumultuous week
All of these CDC level changes are taking place against a whirlwind of pandemic news affecting travel around the world: