The CDC added six new destinations, including the Bahamas, to its highest COVID-19 travel warning level.Travel restrictions and guidelines are changing daily, and while some spots around the world are opening up to travelers, it’s still important to make sure you’re checking government and world health recommendations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now added six new destinations to its highest “Level 4” COVID-19 travel warning list, including the Bahamas and Saint Martin.
The CDC advisory warns Americans against traveling to locations designated as Level 4; a destination is considered to have a “very high” level of transmission if 500 new cases or more are recorded per 100,000 people over a 28-day period. The CDC recommends Americans avoid traveling to places within the highest warning category, but if they absolutely must, then they should be fully vaccinated before doing so.
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Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19 (and here’s your daily reminder to get vaccinated, thanks!), though even those that are vaccinated are at risk of contracting variants like the highly contagious Delta variant, especially in destinations with especially high transmission rates.
Along with the Bahamas and Saint Martin in the Caribbean, the CDC also added Haiti, Kosovo, Lebanon and Morocco to the Level 4 list. All of the aforementioned locations, which were previously designated as “Level 3,” are still technically open to American travelers, as long as they follow certain requirements, including vaccinations and negative COVID-19 tests.
Even so, countries have added new restrictions and curfews; the Bahamian prime minister recently issued a pandemic curfew on Saturday, August 21, which is in place daily from 8 pm until 5 am, reports CNN, and includes mainland Exuma, Abaco and Abaco Cays as well as North, Central and South Andros.
Don’t forget to mask up. Photo-illustration by Observer via Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
CDC and State Department guidelines are subject to change, so make sure to check the specific restrictions and recommendations for your particular travel circumstances if you have any domestic or international trips coming up anytime soon. No matter what kind of travel you’re thinking about, don’t forget to mask up, as the TSA recently extended the federal transportation mask mandate through at least January 18, 2022, which means travelers are required to wear a face covering if they plan on getting on an airplane, train, bus or subway for the foreseeable future.
