ROAD TOWN, Tortola — More than 100 countries are on U.S. federal health officials’ list of destinations to avoid because of a high risk of COVID-19, including Australia, Israel, the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands.
With 42 deaths and a population of just 30,237, the BVI rose in rank from 68th in fatalities in the world — to 66th.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved 22 countries to its “level 4” travel health notice tier Tuesday, signaling that travelers should “avoid travel to these destinations” regardless of vaccination status.
“If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel,” the CDC says on its website.
The countries considered to have a “very high” risk of COVID-19 include:
- Albania
- Argentina
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bermuda
- Bolivia
- British Virgin Islands
- Cape Verde
- Egypt
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Israel
- Panama
- Qatar
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Sint Maarten
- Suriname
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Uruguay
They join other popular destinations on the level 4 tier, including Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
The CDC looks at incidence rates and new case trajectories to determine each country’s COVID-19 risk. Countries are bumped to the level 4 tier when they report more than 500 new cases per 100,000 people over the past 28 days.
►CDC warns travelers to avoid Canada:’Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk’ from COVID-19.