CDC labels Botswana ‘extremely high’ risk, advises its people against visiting

BOTSWANA, GREECE, THE UNITED KINGDOM, SWITZERLAND, TURKEY, AUSTRIA, BARBADOS, BELGIUM, MALDIVES, RUSSIA, SINGAPORE, NORWAY, AND THE BAHAMAS ARE AMONG THE 80 COUNTRIES RATED AS “EXTREMELY HIGH” RISK FOR TRAVEL BY THE US’S CENTRES FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC).

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Following a recent spike in COVID cases, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention added more destinations to its Level 4 “extremely high” risk category for travel on Monday.

If you must travel to these areas, the CDC advises that you “make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel” because there is a “risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 variations.”

The CDC has classified two more European countries as “extremely high” risk for travel, elevating them from a Level 3 to a Level 4 category – the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

COVID instances have increased in both nations in recent days. According to Johns Hopkins University, the Netherlands recorded 11,832 new cases and 22 COVID-19 deaths in the last day, while Luxembourg reported 452 new positive cases of the virus and two new COVID-19 deaths.

The CDC classifies a location as Level 4 if 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people have been reported in the previous 28 days.

The Faroe Islands and the Cayman Islands joined the Level 4 “extremely high” category on Monday. Both destinations were formerly classified as “high” risk Level 3 destinations.Four countries were also added to the Level 3 “high” danger category on Monday. These destinations were downgraded from Level 4 “very high” due to indicators of COVID instances reducing.

Level 3 is defined as 100 to 500 virus cases per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days, according to the CDC. Iran, Sint Maarten, Thailand, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have all been promoted to Level 3.

The United Arab Emirates also declined from Level 3 to Level 2 this week, with the CDC classifying 50 to 99 COVID cases per 100,000 persons in the previous 28 days as “moderate.”

Five locations were also moved to Level 1, which is reserved for “low” risk vacation destinations, according to the CDC. Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Rwanda, and Sudan were among them.