US to put 80% of all nations under COVID-19 ‘do not travel’ advisory

Tim Ahmann/Reuters

4 years ago

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 9, 2021 file photo, travelers walk through the Salt Lake City International Airport, in Salt Lake City. The number of people flying in the United States has eclipsed the year-ago level for the first time in the pandemic period, although travel remains deeply depressed from 2019. The Transportation Security Administration said 1.34 million people passed through U.S. airport checkpoints on Sunday, March 14 topping the 1.26 million people that TSA screened on the comparable Sunday a year ago. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. State Department said on Monday it would start updating this week travel advisories in light of the COVID-19 pandemic’s “unprecedented risk to travelers,” significantly increasing the number of countries it advises Americans not to visit.

“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.

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