CDC provides 6 locations to ‘excessive’ threat class for journey

(CNN) — The US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention added six locations to its “excessive” threat class for journey on Monday.

Two Central American international locations — El Salvador and Honduras — obtained a Stage 3, “excessive” threat designation. Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland and Fiji had been additionally added to Stage 3.

The designation applies to locations which have had greater than 100 circumstances per 100,000 residents prior to now 28 days. Stage 2 and Stage 1 are thought-about “reasonable” and “low” threat, respectively.

To recap, these six locations obtained “excessive” threat designations on Monday:

• Bangladesh
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• El Salvador
• Fiji
• Honduras
• Poland

There have been greater than 120 locations at Stage 3 on July 25. Stage 3 areas account for about half the roughly 235 locations monitored by the CDC.

Stage 4, beforehand the best threat class, is now reserved just for particular circumstances, reminiscent of extraordinarily excessive case counts, emergence of a brand new variant of concern or well being care infrastructure collapse. Underneath the brand new system, no locations have been positioned at Stage 4 to date.

Extra on Stage 3

A lot of Europe has been stubbornly lodged at Stage 3 for months with the summer time journey season in full swing. As of July 25, the next common European locations had been amongst these remaining at Stage 3:

• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Eire
• Italy
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain
• United Kingdom

These aren’t the one high-profile spots that discover themselves at Stage 3. Quite a few different locations around the globe are amongst these within the “excessive” threat class, together with the next:

• Brazil
• Canada
• Costa Rica
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Thailand
• Turkey

Stage 2

The Philippines, with Coron Island pictured, moved as much as “reasonable” threat on Monday.

Nguyen Duy Phuong/Adobe Inventory

Locations carrying the “Stage 2: Covid-19 Average” designation reported 50 to 100 Covid-19 circumstances per 100,000 residents prior to now 28 days. The CDC designated 5 new Stage 2 locations on Monday:

• Equatorial Guinea
• India
• Moldova
• Philippines
• Togo

The transfer was dangerous information for all 5 locations, which moved up from Stage 1. There are fewer than 20 locations within the “reasonable” threat class this week.

Stage 1

To be listed as “Stage 1: Covid-19 Low,” a vacation spot should have had 49 or fewer new circumstances per 100,000 residents over the previous 28 days. Two new locations had been added to the class on July 25: Angola and Comoros.

There are greater than 30 locations within the “low” threat class this week.

A number of of the extra common locations within the “low” threat class this week embrace Indonesia and Tanzania.

Unknown

Lastly, there are the locations the CDC has deemed to be of “unknown” threat due to a lack of expertise. Often, however not at all times, these are small, distant locations or locations with ongoing warfare or unrest. Two locations had been added this week: Dominica and Ethiopia.

The CDC advises in opposition to journey to those locations exactly as a result of the dangers are unknown. Different locations on this class that sometimes draw extra vacationer consideration embrace French Polynesia, Hungary, Macau and the Maldives.

There are almost 65 locations listed as “unknown” this week.

A medical professional weighs in on threat ranges

Transmission charges are simply “one guidepost” for vacationers’ private threat calculations, in line with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.

We have moved into “a section within the pandemic the place individuals must make their very own choices primarily based on their medical circumstances in addition to their threat tolerance in terms of contracting Covid-19,” stated Wen, who’s an emergency doctor and professor of well being coverage and administration on the George Washington College Milken Institute College of Public Well being.

There are different elements to weigh along with transmission charges, in line with Wen.

“One other is what precautions are required and adopted within the place that you are going after which the third is what are you planning on doing when you’re there,” she stated.

“Are you planning to go to plenty of points of interest and go to indoor bars? That is very totally different from you are going someplace the place you are planning to lie on the seashore all day and never work together with anybody else. That is very totally different. These are very totally different ranges of threat.”

Vaccination is probably the most vital security issue for journey, since unvaccinated vacationers usually tend to change into in poor health and transmit Covid-19 to others, Wen stated.

And it is also necessary to think about what you’ll do if you find yourself testing optimistic away from residence.

Prime picture: Roatan Island, Honduras (Philippe Turpin/Photononstop RF/Getty Photos)