March 14 (UPI) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday placed Mauritius into its highest-risk travel category.
The CDC designated the Indian Ocean island nation as “Level 4: Very High” for COVID-19 risk after it reported a 189% increase in weekly cases, according to World Health Organization data.
“Avoid travel to Mauritius. If you must travel to Mauritius, make sure you are vaccinated and up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travel,” the agency advised.
Mauritius was the only destination added to Level 4 Monday as about 125 destinations are currently designated at that level, down from more than 140 in February.
Destinations are added to Level 4 if and when they reach a rate of more than 500 cumulative new cases per 100,000 people over the previous 28 days.
“You should interpret Level 4 to mean this is a place with a lot of community transmission of COVID-19,” CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. “So if you go, there is a higher chance that you could contract the coronavirus.”
The CDC on Monday also dropped nine destinations including Cuba, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten and Turks and Caicos from Level 4 to “Level 3: High”, indicating a rate of 100-500 new COVID-19 cases within the past 28 days.
Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Zambia and any travel on cruise ships were all downgraded from Level 3 to “Level 2: Moderate” indicating 50-199 new cases per 100,000 people in the past 28 days.
Additionally, Angola, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Saba, Sao Tome and Principe and Senegal were moved to “Level 1: Low” with fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the past 28 days.
