Americans Should Avoid Travel to Canada: CDC

TUESDAY, Jan. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Americans should avoid travel to Canada due to "very high" levels of COVID-19 cases in that country, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.

The agency placed Canada under a Level 4 travel health notice, which is the highest category and includes other countries such as France, Germany, Britain, Spain and South Africa.

"Because of the current situation in Canada, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants," the CDC said in a statement.

As of Sunday, Canada had reported a daily average of 42,062 new infections, an increase of 169% over the past two weeks, according to The New York Times.

Americans who must travel to Canada should be fully vaccinated, the CDC advised. Fully vaccinated people are allowed to enter Canada, but must be tested beforehand.

Starting on Saturday, certain groups of people who were previously exempt from COVID-19 entry requirements — including professional athletes, truck drivers and other essential service workers, along with certain temporary foreign workers — will be allowed into Canada only if they are fully vaccinated, the Canadian government recently announced, the Times reported.

Also on Monday, the CDC placed the Caribbean island of Curaçao under a Level 4 travel notice.

In December, the Canadian government advised citizens to avoid nonessential travel out of the country, regardless of vaccination status.

More information

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on traveling during the pandemic.

SOURCE: The New York Times