On Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked citizens not to travel to Thailand and 69 other countries due to an increase in Covid-19 cases.
In addition to issuing travel alerts to the kingdom, the CDC warned against visiting Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, France, Iceland, Aruba, French Polynesia, among others.
Such countries were included in the CDC’s highest Covid-19 rating, “Level 4: Very High,” as infections spread worldwide.
On its official website, the CDC said that people who must go to Thailand should make sure they are fully vaccinated before traveling.
In an update, the CDC wrote: “Because of the current situation in Thailand, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants.”
The CDC’s “Level 4: Very High Level of COVID-19” list had 70 countries, including three Southeast Asian nations: Myanmar, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Thailand, facing a deadly third wave dominated by the most contagious Delta variant, logged a record 235 new fatalities and 19,843 cases in the past 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported.
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Thai health officials have reported 795,951 infections and 6,588 coronavirus-related deaths in total.
On Monday, the US State Department issued parallel Level 4 warnings, asking people to avoid traveling to France and Iceland.
Last month, the CDC raised concerns about traveling to the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. In response, its July report included a “Level 3: High” health notice about traveling to such countries.
Monday’s CDC list also brought Austria, El Salvador, Croatia, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Guam, and Jamaica to “Level 3: High.”
Unvaccinated people should avoid nonessential travel to those nations, the CDC added.
