A new year, a new variant, and a new travel advisory. The CDC has issued its first warning in 2021. This time to a popular Caribbean paradise. Just over eight months ago, the agency issued 115 in one week in the middle of April. While this one advisory is a far cry from that, it continues to remind travelers that we are not out of this yet. The CDC added Aruba to the list of travel advisories.
Aruba hit the mark
The Dutch colony off the coast of South America is a popular winter getaway, making the timing of this new advisory extremely unfortunate for the country’s tourism industry. The State Dept has added the country to its “Do Not Travel” countries list with the “Level 4” red banner. A country receives this designation when it reports 500 cases per 100,000 people in 28 days.
The State Department’s advisory states, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Aruba due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. If you are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine, your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC’s specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers. Visit the Consulate’s COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 in Aruba.”
What to do if you have plans to travel
The CDC released valuable information on their website for any travelers who must travel to Aruba. It states that all visitors need to be fully vaccinated before travel. It also recommends that any traveler who has tested positive for COVID-19 complete the necessary quarantine before the departure date. Lastly, the agency asks all travelers to follow the guidelines set out by Aruba. These include masking and social distancing.
