The CDC Introduces a New “Do Not Travel” Advisory System

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had 89 countries listed on its Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory list. As of today, that number is zero. What led to this drastic change in just a week? Did those 89 countries suddenly become safer for travelers? Not necessarily.

As of April 18, the CDC has revised its criteria for classifying international destinations within its COVID travel advisory framework.

The CDC explained that this new system will reserve Level 4 travel health notices for specific situations, such as a rapid increase in case numbers, extremely high case counts, the emergence of concerning variants, or a collapse of healthcare systems.

Currently, Level 4 is labeled as “Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel,” whereas it previously indicated a “very high level of COVID-19” and advised against travel to those areas, based on certain thresholds of new cases and increasing trends.

The new advisory system simplifies the process for travelers to evaluate critical pandemic-related risks globally. When numerous countries are classified as “high risk,” it can either discourage travelers from going abroad entirely or lead to skepticism about an advisory system that broadly categorizes risk levels.

The CDC remarked, “With this new setup, travelers will receive a clearer warning about when they should avoid traveling to specific destinations (Level 4), irrespective of vaccination status, until we gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 situation in that area.”

Each week, the CDC publishes updated travel health notices and an accompanying map. Recently, a significant number of countries were designated as Level 4 or “do not travel,” with 140 countries listed in early February. Under the new classification, there are currently no countries at Level 4, while 122 countries and territories are now categorized as Level 3 or “COVID-19: High.”

Levels 1, 2, and 3 indicate incidents of COVID-19 that are classified as “low,” “medium,” and “high,” respectively. There are also several nations marked as “level unknown,” displayed in gray on the map. Understanding these levels can assist travelers in making informed choices about where they feel secure traveling and what additional precautions they might consider before, during, or after their trips. For all levels, the CDC advises travelers to stay current with their COVID-19 vaccinations but does not suggest avoiding travel, meaning there is currently no location deemed unsafe in terms of the pandemic.

This advisory system operates independently from the travel requirements imposed by individual countries, which have frequently changed throughout the pandemic as COVID cases have fluctuated.

The U.S. State Department has a comparable four-level travel advisory system; however, their advisories consider a wider range of safety factors beyond just public health, including risks related to war, violence, and various humanitarian or natural crises.