Just this past week, five new destinations moved into Level 4 or “Very High Covid-19 Risk” in terms of Covid-19 Travel Recommendations, which include: Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
This list is updated weekly with new additions being moved from each tier of travel restrictions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These and other destinations which fall under the CDC’s highest tier should be avoided but if travel is a necessity they recommend being fully vaccinated before travel.
Four of these countries (Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina) have been moved to the highest tier due to the recent surge of cases in Eastern Europe or Southeastern Europe. This was made clear by the tweet on October 14, in which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) tweeted out a map – ranging from green to orange to maroon.
This map shows the Covid-19 activity by a country determined by the number of cases per 100,000 people and positive tests which is also compounded by the lower vaccination rates. For example, both Romania and Bulgaria have reported less than 35% and 24% respectively, of adults in its population being vaccinated.
This recent announcement follows the CDC’s announcement back on October 4 which moved Armenia, Austria, Barbados, Croatia, Latvia and New Caledonia to Level 4 designation. Countries receive Level 4 designation when there are more than 500 reported cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days.
In some good news, Spain moved from Level 4 to Level 3 where the CDC states that you should “make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling to these destinations. Unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to these destinations.”
To stay apprised of the latest notices by the CDC to see which level each country is tiered at, please visit the CDC’s Travel Health Notices portal here.