U.S. CDC warns against travel to Mexico, Brazil, Singapore over COVID-19

Travelers wearing protective face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) reclaim their luggage at the airport in Denver, Colorado, U.S., November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised against travel to a dozen countries because of high rates of coronavirus infection, including Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Ecuador, Kosovo, Philippines and Paraguay.

The CDC now lists nearly 130 countries and territories with COVID-19 cases as “Level Four: Very High.” It also added Anguilla, French Guiana, Moldova and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to its highest level on Monday.

The U.S. State Department also raised its travel advisory for Mexico and some of the other nations listed by the CDC to “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”

Since mid-December, the U.S. government has added more than 60 countries and territories to its list of places to avoid, citing the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The CDC also raised travel warnings for 11 countries and territories to “Level Three: High” that urges unvaccinated Americans to avoid non-essential travel: Bhutan, Brunei, Comoros, French Polynesia, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Liberia, Nepal and Oman. It now lists about 53 countries and territories at High.”

The CDC lists 16 countries at “Level 2: Moderate” or “Level 1: Low” and 40 other destinations are listed as unknown.

The United States agreed last month to lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries that were imposed in November over Omicron, including South Africa.

Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.