The US Eases Canada’s Travel Advisory Classification to Level 2

The US State Department and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their travel advisory classification for Canada. Canada is now classified under “Level 2 Exercise Increased Caution”.

Even if the US eased its travel advisory classification for Canada, non-essential travel to the US is still not allowed.

In March 2020, Canada barred leisure travel from the US during the start of the pandemic. But on Monday, Canada reopened its borders to vaccinated American tourists. This allows vaccinated US travelers to go to Canada without spending days in quarantine.

Updated Travel Advisory Classification for Different Countries

Though the US eased its travel advisory classification on Canada, it’s a different story for some countries. The CDC added seven countries to “Level 4” COVID travel warning. Among the countries included are France and Iceland. The level 4 travel advisory means that there are at least 500 cases per 100,000 people.

The US state department and the CDC advise Americans not to go to these places because of high levels of COVID19. Apart from France and Iceland, Israel, Aruba, Eswatini, French Polynesia, and Thailand were all placed under Level 4 travel warning.

Some of these countries, just like Canada, now welcome US tourists. Thailand for example now welcomes US tourists. It has offered the Phuket Sandbox program designed for vaccinated tourists. France also welcomes American tourists both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Unvaccinated travelers can still enter France but will only have to show a negative COVID test.

Delta Cases in the US

Delta variant pushed the US to its 6-month high averaging 100,000 new cases per day. Health officials are concerned about some parts of the US that have low vaccination rates. And this is also the reason why the US refused to open its border for non-essential travelers. However, there was a report that the US is planning to slowly open its borders again for vaccinated tourists. But for now, nothing is concrete.