Photo: Thanakorn.P (Shutterstock)
If you’re considering an international trip any time soon, your first stop should be the CDC’s Travel Recommendations by Destination map. There you can see how your destination country ranks in terms of COVID cases.
As of the time of this writing, things are, generally, not good. There are four categories: low, medium, high, and very high risk. The “very high” list is the longest, with about 75 countries on it, including the US. The “high” list is the next longest.
Who’s low risk? At the moment, that list includes China, Australia, a few Eastern European countries (including Poland and Romania), and a swath of African countries from Mali to Sudan.
The map gives a snapshot of current conditions, so it doesn’t guarantee a country will still be low risk by the time of your scheduled vacation. But it can give you an idea, and you can keep checking back as your date approaches.
Here are the precautions the CDC recommends for the different risk levels:
Very high risk: “Avoid travel to these destinations. If you must travel to these destinations, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.”High risk: “Make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling to these destinations. Unvaccinated travelers should avoid nonessential travel to these destinations.”Moderate risk: “Make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling to these destinations. Unvaccinated travelers who are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should avoid nonessential travel to the these destinations.”Low risk: “Make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel to these destinations.”G/O Media may get a commission
Countries with no data available are treated the same as very high risk countries, with an “avoid travel” warning. And yes, the CDC recommends that you be vaccinated before you travel anywhere. Read more on their page about international travel.
If you’re traveling domestically, by the way, there is a map of US counties by current COVID status, as well as recommendations for domestic travelers.
