Travelers who partied without masks in flight, stranded in Mexico 2:02
(CNN) -
Canada on Monday moved to the category of highest risk for travelers on the list prepared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English).
Canada, the world's second-largest country by total area, has seen a sharp increase in cases as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads.
The country recorded 294,437 new cases in the week ending January 8, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, its highest weekly total for the pandemic.
Canada was joined by another destination, the Caribbean island of Curaçao, which rose to Very High Risk Level 4 on Monday.
CDC places a destination at level 4 when more than 500 cases have been recorded per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.
The CDC advises travelers to avoid traveling to Tier 4 countries.
CDC advises against visiting this popular Caribbean island
Canada was at level 3 since August 30, 2021. Curaçao, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, had been at level 3 since November 22, 2021.
On December 15, Canada issued a notice to its citizens asking them to avoid all non-essential international travel.
Last week, a group of travelers wearing maskless fun en route to Mexico from Montreal earned a reprimand from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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Travelers who organized a party without masks on a flight from Canada are stranded in Mexico
Most international visitors to Canada are required to be vaccinated and test negative for COVID-19.
Pastel colored buildings on the waterfront in the old town of Willemstad, Curacao.
This Dutch island has been elevated to risk level 4 by the CDC, joining the sister islands "ABC", Aruba and Bonaire.
Credit: Daniel Slim / AFP via Getty Images
In addition to
Canada and Curaçao
, some of the biggest names in the world of travel remain at CDC level 4 for now:
Spain
France
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Portugal
United Kingdom
South Africa
Swiss
More than 80 destinations were rated level 4 as of January 10.
You can check the CDC's risk levels for world destinations on their travel advice page.
In its broader travel guide, the CDC recommends avoiding all international travel until you are fully vaccinated.
The government of Mexico announces that it will receive in its ports the cruise ships that request to dock
Cruise ships
The Norwegian Gem, owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, docked at PortMiami in August 2021.
Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
On December 30, the CDC raised the risk of cruise travel to level 4 and said they should be avoided regardless of vaccination status.
Last week, two large cruise companies canceled their upcoming trips on numerous ships, as COVID-19-related disruptions mounted.
Level 3 additions
The level 3 category, which is applied to destinations that have had between 100 and 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days, registered 10 new additions from various regions:
Armenia
Bahrain
Belarus
Cape Verde
United Arab Emirates
Ethiopia
Lesotho
Singapore
Zambia
Zimbabwe
The level 3 designation was actually good news for Armenia and Belarus, who were at level 4.
It was also good news for Lesotho and Zimbabwe, two of the eight southern African countries that landed at Tier 4 in late November after the omicron variant of the coronavirus was discovered in the region.
The United States travel ban on those countries was lifted on December 31.
It was, meanwhile, a move in the wrong direction for Bahrain, Cape Verde, Ethiopia and Zambia, which had all been at Tier 2. The UAE rose two risk levels from Tier 1.
And Singapore, which was listed as unknown last week due to lack of information, went to level 3.
Level 2 additions
Destinations with the designation "Level 2: Moderate Covid-19 Risk" have seen between 50 and 99 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.
At this level there were eight new recruits on Monday, five of them in Africa:
The Savior
Fiji
Kuwait
Liberia
Democratic Republic of Congo
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Togo
Level 1 and unknown
In the destination category "Level 1: low risk of covid", fewer than 50 new cases have been registered for every 100,000 residents in the last 28 days.
This Monday there were no updates in that category.
France adds US to covid-19 travel red list
Finally, there are destinations for which the CDC has an "unknown" risk due to lack of information.
Usually, but not always, these are small and remote places.
No new destinations were included in the "unknown" category on Monday.
Travel considerations
Transmission rates are important to consider when making travel decisions, but other factors also need to be considered, according to Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst, emergency room physician and professor of Health Policy and Management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
"Transmission rates are a benchmark," Wen said.
"Another is what precautions are required and followed where you are going, and the third is what you plan to do once you are there."
"Do you plan to visit a lot of attractions and go to closed bars? That is very different from going to a place where you plan to lie on the beach all day and not interact with anyone else. That is very different. They are very different levels of risk."
A woman isolates herself in the plane's bathroom after testing positive for covid-19 in flight
Vaccination is the most important safety factor for travel, as unvaccinated travelers are more likely to become ill and transmit COVID-19 to others, Wen said.
The doctor recommends that people use a high-quality mask, N95, KN95 or KF94, whenever they are in closed places and crowded with people of unknown vaccination status.
Before traveling, it's also important to consider what you would do if you tested positive for COVID-19 outside the home, Wen said.
Where will you stay and how easy will it be to take the test to return home?
CDCCovid-19travels
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