The US is set to advise against travel to more than three-quarters of countries worldwide, citing “unprecedented risk” to American travellers.
The US State Department already has a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” alert for 34 countries across the world including Kenya, Brazil, Russia and Argentina, in order to restrict the spread of Covid-19.
It said it would increase the level 4 alert to cover around 80 per cent of countries worldwide. This implies adding nearly 130 new nations to the list.
The move “reflects an adjustment in the State Department's Travel Advisory system to rely more on (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s) existing epidemiological assessments”.
The US public health outfit, the CDC, already recommends Americans delay both domestic and international travel until they are fully vaccinated.
Many Americans are already prevented from travelling to much of Europe due to Covid restrictions; while the US has barred almost all non-US citizens who have been in Covid hotspots recently, which includes Europe and the UK.
This morning we reported that Alaska is offering free jabs to tourists this summer to bolster its battered tourism industry.
Alaskan governor Mike Dunleavy made the announcement as part of a package of measures to rescue business in the US state’s pandemic-battered tourism industry.
From 1 June, any tourist arriving at one of four Alaska airports – Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan and Fairbank – will be able to get a vaccine for free.
Additional reporting by agencies
