US Urges Citizens to Reconsider Travel Abroad Due to Covid-19

In view of different Covid-19 developments worldwide, the US State Department urged Americans to reconsider all travel abroad this week, after updating its travel advisories on Tuesday, including its notice for Greece.

More specifically, Greece has been placed on the highest alert: “Do not travel” level 4, together with dozens of other countries, including Germany, the UK, Denmark, Austria, Italy, France, Turkey, and Spain, among others. 

“This update will result in a significant increase in the number of countries at Level 4: Do Not Travel, to approximately 80 percent of countries worldwide,” it said in a statement this week.

According to the travel advisory issued on Tuesday (April 20, 2021) the State Department warns against travel to Greece due to Covid-19.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a level 4 travel health notice for Greece due to Covid-19, indicating a very high level of Covid-19 in the country. Visit the embassy’s Covid-19 page for more information on Covid-19 in Greece,” it reads.

Source: US State Department

“As travelers face ongoing risks due Covid-19, we have updated our travel advisories to better reflect CDC’s science-based travel health notices. We also considered logistics like testing availability and travel restrictions for US citizens,” the State Department said.

The new color-coded system has four advisory levels: 1-blue advising travelers to “exercise normal precautions” ; 2-yellow advising travelers to “exercise increased caution”; 3-orange advising travelers to “reconsider travel”; and 4-red “do not travel”.

According to Reuters, Airlines for America, a trade group representing major US carriers, said that it continues “to urge the federal government to transparently establish the criteria – including clear metrics, benchmarks, and a timeline – for re-opening international markets”.