Travel to this 'very high' risk area should be avoided, according to the CDC. Island in the Indian Ocean

There are now about 120 destinations at Level 4. While the number of places in the "very high" risk category has been dropping since peaking at around 140 in February, there are still more places in the Level 4 category than in all the other categories combined.

Mar 22, 2022 - 10:24 Updated: Mar 22, 2022 - 10:38

Travel to this 'very high' risk area should be avoided, according to the CDC. Island in the Indian Ocean

On Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added only one new location to its highest-risk travel category: another Indian Ocean island nation.
Madagascar has been promoted to Level 4.

It is the world's fourth-largest island and is located off the southeastern coast of Africa. It is recognized for its distinctive biodiversity, especially lemurs.
Mauritius, a much smaller Indian Ocean island nation, was the sole location added to Level 4 last week.

It stayed at Level 4 this week as well.
When more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents have been documented in the last 28 days, the CDC rates a destination as "Level 4: Covid-19 Very High."
Last week, Madagascar was classified as a "Level 3: Covid-19 High" danger.

There are now about 120 destinations at Level 4. While the number of places in the "very high" risk category has been dropping since peaking at around 140 in February, there are still more places in the Level 4 category than in all the other categories combined

Travel to Level 4 countries should be avoided, according to the CDC. The number of Covid-19 cases in a destination is used by the CDC to set thresholds for travel health alerts.
The United States is not on the CDC's list of advisories, but it was color-coded as Level 4 on the agency's map of travel risk levels on March 21.

Aruba, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Greece, Peru, and Spain are among the tourist hotspots on Level 4.

On the CDC's travel guidelines page, you may see the risk ratings for any global destination.
The CDC recommends deferring all overseas travel until you are completely immunized in its broader travel advice. On Monday, five new places were added to the Level 3 "high" risk category, which applies to destinations with between 100 and 500 instances per 100,000 population in the previous 28 days.

Albania, Bolivia, Botswana, Colombia, and Guyana were among them.
The quintet's promotion to Level 3 was welcome news after they spent the previous week in Level 4. Colombia, particularly its cosmopolitan metropolis of Bogotá, has become a popular tourism destination in recent years.

In the last 28 days, destinations with the "Level 2: Covid-19 Moderate" rating have witnessed 50 to 99 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 persons. • Guinea is one among the four new Level 2 entries on March 21.
Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa.
• Nepal • Morocco
All four were at Level 3, including Morocco's most popular tourist attraction.
It is currently at Level 2 for those interested in cruise ship travel.

To be in "Level 1: Covid-19 Low," a destination must have fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 population over the last 28 days. Six slots moved to Level 1 on Monday:
• Cape Verde • Cameroon
Gabon, Gambia, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are all countries in Africa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo was the country that dropped the most, from Level 4 to Level 1. Cape Verde was a Level 3 country. The remainder were on the "moderate" Level 2 scale.
Africa remains a bright point on the present Covid map, as it is home to all six of them.

Overall, there are now 30 destinations at Level 1, and all but three (China, Saba, and Taiwan) are in Africa. That includes Kenya, a favorite of safari-goers.

Finally, there are destinations for which the CDC has an "unknown" risk because of a lack of information. Usually, but not always, these are small, remote places or places with ongoing warfare or unrest. The CDC made no new additions to the category on Monday.

Cambodia, the Canary Islands, Macau, and Tanzania are among the more-visited locations currently listed in the unknown category. The CDC advises against traveling to these places precisely because the risks are unknown.

Transmission rates are "one guidepost" for travelers' risk calculations, according to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.

"We are entering a phase in the pandemic where people need to make their own decisions based on their medical circumstances as well as their risk tolerance when it comes to contracting Covid-19," Wen said in mid-February.

"You should interpret Level 4 to mean this is a place with a lot of community transmission of Covid-19. So if you go, there is a higher chance that you could contract the coronavirus," said Wen, who is an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

Some people will decide the risk is too high for them, Wen said. "Other people will say, 'Because I am vaccinated and boosted, I am willing to take on that risk.'

"So this really needs to be a personal decision that people weigh understanding that right now the CDC is classifying the different levels based on community transmission rates, and only that," Wen said. "They're not taking into account individual circumstances."

According to Wen, there are other aspects to consider in addition to transmission rates.
"One guidepost is transmission rates," Wen explained. "Another consideration is what precautions are necessary and followed at the destination, and the third is what you intend to do once you are there. "Are you planning to see a lot of attractions and go to indoor bars?" That's not the same as going somewhere where you intend to spend the entire day on the beach and not engage with anyone. That's a significant difference. Those are two very distinct risk thresholds."

Vaccination is the most important travel safety element, according to Wen, because unvaccinated travelers are more likely to fall ill and spread Covid-19 to others.
"People who have not been vaccinated are still at a significant risk and should not travel at this time," she warned.
When in crowded indoor environments with persons of unknown vaccination status, she recommends using a high-quality mask such as the N95, KN95, or KF94.
It's also crucial to determine what you'll do if you test positive while away from home. How easy would it be to get a test to return home and where will you stay?