The CDC puts Sweden and two other places on a “high” risk list for Covid-19
(CNN) – TThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put a Nordic travel favorite on its “high” risk list for Covid-19 along with two other places.
Represents three continents, the three destinations added to the list on Tuesday are:
• Guatemala
• Morocco
• Sweden
Level 3, or “high”, is now the top step in terms of risk level and applies to places that have had more than 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 28 days. Level 2 and level 1 are considered to be “moderate” and “low” risk, respectively.
All three new entries to level 3 on Tuesday had previously been at level 2.
There were almost 115 destinations at level 3 on July 5th. Level 3 sites account for almost half of the approximately 235 sites monitored by the CDC.
Level 4, formerly the highest risk category, is now only reserved for special circumstances, such as extremely high cases, the emergence of a new variant of concern or the collapse of healthcare infrastructure. According to the new system, no destinations have been placed at level 4 so far.
More about level 3
The village of Oia on the island of Santorini is a favorite tourist spot in Greece, which remains at CDC level 3.
Francesco Riccardo Iacomino / Moment RF / Getty Images
A large part of Europe has stubbornly been at level 3 for months with the summer travel season in full swing. As of July 5, the following popular European destinations were among those remaining at Level 3:
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain
• United Kingdom
These are not the only high-profile sites that are at level 3. Many other destinations around the world are among those in the “high” risk category, including the following:
• Brazil
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Thailand
• Turkey
Level 2
Baalbek is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lebanon, which has moved up to the CDC’s “moderate” risk category.
Luis Dafos / Moment RF / Getty Images
Destinations bearing the designation “Level 2: Covid-19 Moderate” reported 50 to 100 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 28 days. The CDC moved three seats to this level on Tuesday:
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Northern Macedonia
The move was not good news for Middle East Jordan and Lebanon, which had been at level 1. For northern Macedonia in the European Balkans, the move was in a positive direction, having previously been at level 3.
There are 20 places in the risk category “moderate” this week.
Level 1
To be listed as “Level 1: Covid-19 low”, a destination must have had 49 or fewer new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 28 days. Only two small destiny destinations were added to the category on July 5:
• Saba
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saba, in the Caribbean, had been at level 2. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French archipelago south of Newfoundland, Canada, had been at level 3.
Some of the more popular places in the “low” risk category this week include Indonesia, India and the Philippines.
Unknown
The Hungarian Parliament is seen through the vaults of the Fisherman ‘s Bastion in Budapest. The CDC warns against travel to places where the Covid-19 risk is “unknown”.
Alexander Spatari / Moment RF / Getty Images
Finally, there are those destinations that the CDC has considered to be of “unknown” risk due to lack of information. Usually, but not always, it is small, remote places or places with ongoing warfare or unrest. Four places have been added to this category this week:
• Haiti
• Hungary
• Iran
• Mozambique
Haiti, Iran and Mozambique had all been at level 1 last week. Hungary, a favorite stop on the Eastern European circuit, had been at level 3.
The CDC advises against traveling to these places precisely because the risks are unknown. Other destinations in this category that usually attract more tourist attention include French Polynesia, Macau and the Maldives.
A medical expert weighs the risk levels
Transmission speeds are just “a guide” for travelers’ personal risk calculations, according to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.
We have entered “a phase of the pandemic where people have to make their own decisions based on their medical circumstances as well as their risk tolerance when it comes to getting Covid-19”, says Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
There are other factors to consider in addition to the transfer rates, according to Wen.
“Another is what precautions are required and followed in the place you are going and then the third is what you plan to do once you are there,” she said.
“Are you planning to visit many attractions and go to indoor bars? It is very different than going somewhere where you plan to lie on the beach all day and not interact with anyone else. It is very different. There are very different levels of risk.”
Vaccination is the most important safety factor for travel, as unvaccinated travelers are more likely to get sick and transmit Covid-19 to others, Wen said.
And it is also important to think about what you would do if you stopped testing positive from home.
Top picture: The island of Tjorn off the west coast of Sweden. (Peter Adams / Stone RF / Getty Images)