Washington: Amid the surge of covid-19 cases, the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had advised its citizens to avoid travelling to India. In its advisory, the CDC stated that there is “very high level of covid-19” in India.
“Travellers should avoid all travel to India. Even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting & spreading variants and should avoid all travel to India. If you must travel to India, get fully vaccinated before travel,” said CDC.
The US State Department said on Monday it will boost its “Do Not Travel” guidance to about 80% of countries worldwide, citing “unprecedented risk to travelers” from the COVID-19 pandemic. “This update will result in a significant increase in the number of countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80% of countries worldwide,” the department said in a statement.
The CDC also issued travel recommendations for fully vaccinated travellers which stated: “If you are fully vaccinated, then do not have to get tested before leaving the United States, unless your destination requires it and you do not have to self-quarantine after you arrive in the United States.”
Earlier on Monday, Britain announced that India was being added to its “red list” – banning all arrivals from this country except for UK or Irish nationals, who must pay to stay in a government-approved quarantine hotel for 10 days on their return.
On Sunday, Hong Kong had barred flights from India on fears of the mutated coronavirus strain. Previously, New Zealand had also restricted travellers from India.
