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 The State Department already listed 34 out of about 200 countries as
"Level 4: Do Not Travel," including places like Chad, Kosovo, Kenya,
Brazil, Argentina, Haiti, Mozambique, Russia and Tanzania.
"This update will result in a significant increase in the number of
countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80% of
countries worldwide," the department said in a statement.
Getting to 80% would imply adding nearly 130 countries.
The State Department said the move does not imply a reassessment of
current health situations in some countries, but rather "reflects an
adjustment in the State Department's Travel Advisory system to rely
more on (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's) existing
epidemiological assessments."
Most Americans were already prevented from traveling to much of
Europe because of COVID-19 restrictions. Washington has barred
nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in most of
Europe, China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa.
The White House has given no timeline for when it might ease those
restrictions.
Asked for comment on the State Department announcement, Airlines for
America, a trade group representing major U.S. carriers, said "the
U.S. airline industry has been a strong advocate for the development
of a risk-based, data-driven roadmap for restoring international
travel."
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 The group added it continues
"to urge the federal government to transparently
establish the criteria – including clear
metrics, benchmarks, and a timeline – for
reopening international markets."
CDC did not immediately comment.
Earlier this month, the CDC said people who are
fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely
travel within the United States at "low risk"
but CDC Director Rochelle Walensky discouraged
Americans from doing so because of high
coronavirus cases nationwide.
"We know that right now we have a surging number
of cases. I would advocate against general
travel overall," Walensky said on April 2. "We
are not recommending travel at this time,
especially for unvaccinated individuals."
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Tim Ahmann;
Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by David
Gregorio and Michael Perry)
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