US to designate 80% of countries as Level 4 Do Not Travel

[aggiedog]

I keep reading how the State Department is planning on designating up to 80% of the countries in the world as Level 4, Do Not Travel, based on CDC guidelines that have always been there but not necessarily followed in the past. As of Monday, only 16% were designated as such.

I have to wonder what that will do to things like travel insurance coverage or any given company's willingness to continue with tours.

 

[sayhello]

Yes, I've been reading about this too, and was kind of waiting to see what countries were in that 80%.

Sayhello

 

[buk110]

Not only that, but depending on whom you work for your employer may no longer approve your OCONUS travel based on this information.

 

[sayhello]

Not only that, but depending on whom you work for your employer may no longer approve your OCONUS travel based on this information.

OCONUS?

Sayhello

 

[buk110]

OCONUS?

Sayhello

Whoops - sorry about the acronym soup
OUTSIDE CONTINENTAL U.S.

 

[TXTransplant]

Not only that, but depending on whom you work for your employer may no longer approve your OCONUS travel based on this information.

My employer has had restrictions on foreign travel since last summer. If you traveled out of the country, you had to quarantine (working from home, if possible) for up to two weeks (this has since been shortened, per CDC guidelines) and have a negative Covid test before returning to work.

Just last week, we were informed that if you are two-weeks post vaccination, then you can travel internationally without having to quarantine or have a negative Covid test before returning to work.

Cruise ship travel (domestic and foreign) still has return-to-work restrictions, but I consider that to be irrelevant right now since no cruise ships are really operating.

 

[buk110]

My employer has had restrictions on foreign travel since last summer. If you traveled out of the country, you had to quarantine (working from home, if possible) for up to two weeks (this has since been shortened, per CDC guidelines) and have a negative Covid test before returning to work.

Similar experiences here as well. And it's understandable, the last thing an employer needed was for someone to go on holiday - come back to the States and return to work and infect a bunch of workers. Thankfully, it appears that each day 0.3% of the US population is getting a COVID shot and nearly 40% of the population has had one shot. Now with some luck the supply chain and other logistical issues in place can result in everyone across the globe getting a shot and let us all get back to ABD travels

 

[CaliKris]

Yes, I've been reading about this too, and was kind of waiting to see what countries were in that 80%.

Sayhello

I have not seen an official list but if you go on travel.state.gov you can search individual countries. Just about every one I have checked so far has been changed to Level 4 as of yesterday (even Costa Rica where ABD is currently running trips). China, Iceland and Vietnam are a few that I found that are not.

I noticed that ABD deleted a number of dates for 2021 trips off of their website today. Not sure if this is related to the new Level 4 status of most countries or just a low number of bookings. Our Sept 2021 Portugal trip is now the first one listed.

 

[sayhello]

I have not seen an official list but if you go on travel.state.gov you can search individual countries. Just about every one I have checked so far has been changed to Level 4 as of yesterday (even Costa Rica where ABD is currently running trips). China, Iceland and Vietnam are a few that I found that are not.

I noticed that ABD deleted a number of dates for 2021 trips off of their website today. Not sure if this is related to the new Level 4 status of most countries or just a low number of bookings. Our Sept 2021 Portugal trip is now the first one listed.

Thanks. It looks like Portugal is Level 4. As are (sort of randomly) the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and, unfortunately, Egypt. On the other hand, New Zealand and Australia are not, but I don't think they're letting us in right now.



Sayhello

 

[helenk]

It looks as though Iceland is accepting US citizens that have been vaccinated. I have always wanted to go to Iceland.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Here’s a link to the updated list -

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

 

[lovetotravel]

.

 

[CaliKris]

Here’s a link to the updated list -

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

Thank you for the link! This is very helpful! Not sure why they waited until a full year into the pandemic to make this change. Looks like the choices for travel this summer are quite limited internationally. Working on a backup plan for our Sept 2021 Portugal/Spain ABD.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I really don't understand the UK being on that list. Doesn't seem very updated. But it is not looking good for any European trips this summer.

 

[buk110]

I really don't understand the UK being on that list. Doesn't seem very updated. But it is not looking good for any European trips this summer.

The State Department can move as fast or as slow as they want to on certain matters. At this juncture, I think it's more of them wanting to play it safe than anything else. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if that list is very fluid in the upcoming months as more metrics come out. As of yesterday or maybe the day prior, first vaccines were being offered to anyone below the age of 50 in the UK.

If I had a trip to UK I would remain hopeful that it might still happen. But as far as any European Union country such as France.....I'd be concerned that while said country might be open to tourists, there might be external factors keeping the trip from happening

 

[sayhello]

The State Department can move as fast or as slow as they want to on certain matters. At this juncture, I think it's more of them wanting to play it safe than anything else. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if that list is very fluid in the upcoming months as more metrics come out. As of yesterday or maybe the day prior, first vaccines were being offered to anyone below the age of 50 in the UK.

If I had a trip to UK I would remain hopeful that it might still happen. But as far as any European Union country such as France.....I'd be concerned that while said country might be open to tourists, there might be external factors keeping the trip from happening

The UK is currently requiring a 10-day quarantine for people entering the UK (at the traveler's expense). That alone will make running any trips there very problematic. No way to know how long that will last, but it will likely be a while.

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

The UK is currently requiring a 10-day quarantine for people entering the UK (at the traveler's expense). That alone will make running any trips there very problematic. No way to know how long that will last, but it will likely be a while.

Sayhello

You know i follow this situation very closely, LOL. I've actually flown back and forth a handful of times over the pandemic and been through quarantine a few times--not fun. But there is hope!

International travel could begin as soon as May 17th in England with a new traffic light system. Under the system, green countries would bypass quarantine and only be subject to a singe test after arrival. Amber countries would continue as now with a self-quarantine and test and rerelease possibility, and Red countries require UK citizenship/Residency and a hotel quarantine (there are some exceptions but that's the basic gist).

I have a reservation right now for May 12th. It would require 5 tests and quarantine for at least 5 days! Pre-test, 2-day UK required tests on days 2 and 8, 5th day Test and Release to get me out of quarantine, and a test to get back into the US. I should mention I'm fully vaccinated and have been for months! Super frustrating. Anyway, Boris J. is supposed to announce the green list countries in early May. If the US is green, as many are suspecting it will be due to our high vaccination rates, I will change my flight to arrive on/after May 17th to avoid quarantine.

 

[sayhello]

You know i follow this situation very closely, LOL. I've actually flown back and forth a handful of times over the pandemic and been through quarantine a few times--not fun. But there is hope!

International travel could begin as soon as May 17th in England with a new traffic light system. Under the system, green countries would bypass quarantine and only be subject to a singe test after arrival. Amber countries would continue as now with a self-quarantine and test and rerelease possibility, and Red countries require UK citizenship/Residency and a hotel quarantine (there are some exceptions but that's the basic gist).

I have a reservation right now for May 12th. It would require 5 tests and quarantine for at least 5 days! Pre-test, 2-day UK required tests on days 2 and 8, 5th day Test and Release to get me out of quarantine, and a test to get back into the US. I should mention I'm fully vaccinated and have been for months! Super frustrating. Anyway, Boris J. is supposed to announce the green list countries in early May. If the US is green, as many are suspecting it will be due to our high vaccination rates, I will change my flight to arrive on/after May 17th to avoid quarantine.

Whoa! Thanks for the update. Fingers & toes crossed for the US to be green!

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Whoa! Thanks for the update. Fingers & toes crossed for the US to be green!

Sayhello

Thanks, I'm doing lots of crossing over here, too! This trip was supposed to be my and Calfan's hike across the West Highland Way. We decided to postpone with all the uncertainty and now I'm just doing a trip in London to (hopefully) see DD.

 

[Calfan]

I posted this in another thread, but seems relevant to the recent discussion here:

Received the following email this morning from ABD. We have a July 15 Rhine River cruise departure booked. This feels like the precursor to a cancellation. Can someone remind me of the typical time between ABD sending this email and actually cancelling the trip? I don't plan to move our deposit and will play chicken with ABD to get a full refund (i.e., I will pay in full if I need to). Would appreciate any insights from folks with earlier trips cancelled about the timeline of events on the ABD side between the money grab to encourage folks to move their deposits (yes, my cynical side about ABD is showing) and the actual cancellation.

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