The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added Thailand, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Aruba and French Polynesia to its highest “Level 4: Very High” COVID-19 list as cases spread around the globe.
The list comprises more than 70 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The CDC warned against travel to Israel, France, Thailand, Iceland and several other countries because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in those nations.
According to the US CDC, because of the current situation in Thailand, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 variants. Thailand had a record high of 235 new COVID-19 fatalities and registered 19,843 new cases on 10 August.
Meanwhile, the US State Department said US nationals should also reconsider travel to Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla provinces in the South due to civil unrest, adding that the US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in these provinces, while US government employees must obtain special authorization to travel to these provinces.