NEWS: U.S. Government to Issue “Do Not Travel” Advisory for 80% of Countries

Disney4me · April 20, 2021

Even as COVID-19 vaccination ramps up across the United States, the world is seeing a global spike in cases.

Orange-County-Register-Disneyland-Vaccin

COVID-19 vaccination tents at the Disneyland Resort ©Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG

The CDC recently declared it safe for fully vaccinated Americans to travel, and the French President expressed hope that Americans would be able to visit France again this summer. However, even as the United States begins to loosen restrictions, other countries remain in lockdown. And just yesterday, the CDC updated its travel notice for the Bahamas from a Level 3 to a Level 4 risk, citing the spread of COVID-19 variants.

Now, the Department of State is warning Americans not to travel internationally, as “the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented risks to travelers.” According to Axios, it plans to issue “do not travel” guidelines for 80% of countries around the world.

WDW-2020-Orlando-Airport-and-Airplane-8-

Flying to Orlando

The Department of State always has a travel advisory issued for each country, varying from Level 1 (“Exercise normal precautions”) to Level 4 (“Do not travel”). Now, in an effort to “urge U.S. citizens to reconsider travel abroad,” the department plans to upgrade about 80% of countries to that Level 4 warning.

state-department-updated-travel-advisory

©Department of State

According to the Department of State, countries with a Level 4 advisory have “greater likelihood of life-threatening risk.” Even fully vaccinated adults are encouraged “not to travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.”

state-department-travel-advisories-map-7

The Department of State does specify that conditions “could change at any time,” so we’ll keep a close eye out for any updates. Stay tuned to DFB.