The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has once again updated its travel recommendations for several notable destinations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, the agency issued Level 4 Travel Health Notices for both the Netherlands and Cayman Islands, advising Americans to avoid the destinations for the time being. The CDC designates countries Level 4 if they have at least 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.
The latest updates were reflected in new Level 4 guidance issued by the U.S. State Department, which now encourages travelers to avoid visiting both the Netherlands and Cayman Islands due to the threat of COVID-19 and related restrictions.
Meanwhile, both the CDC and State Department lowered their travel warnings for Thailand and Sint Maarten on Monday, issuing Level 3 Travel Health Notices and Level 3 travel advisories, respectively. “Make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling to these destinations,” the CDC states in regards to Level 3 countries. “Unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to these destinations.” For now, the State Department advises Americans to reconsider travel to Thailand and Sint Maarten based on the latest CDC guidance.
The Netherlands is currently open to U.S. travelers who are either fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or qualify for one of the EU Entry Ban Exemption Categories while the Cayman Islands are only open to select U.S. citizens.
However, Thailand reopened to quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated individuals earlier this month and Sint Maarten is also open to fully vaccinated Americans traveling to the Caribbean this fall.
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