The US has lifted its global “do not travel” advisory

The United States is no longer advising against all international travel, according to an update from the US State Department. 

On August 6, the department announced it was lifting the Global Level 4 Health Advisory, which was put in place on March 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and advised citizens against all international travel.

The department, along with the CDC, are now lifting the advisory and instead recommending that citizens “exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic”. The state department will instead return to its system of providing travel advice on a country-by-country basis, due to the fact that conditions are improving in some countries and “potentially deteriorating in others”. Countries will be rated from levels 1 to 4, depending on severity of the outbreaks there. 

Anyone considering heading abroad should read the entire travel advisory for their destination at Travel.State.gov. Conditions in other countries will be monitored in partnership with the CDC and other agencies, according to the state department. “The Department of State has worked closely with the CDC since the start of the pandemic to align our public messages and travel advice and to keep Americans safe.” 

While the US has removed its recommendation against travel for its own citizens, the scale of the outbreak in the US means that many countries, including most of Europe, are not allowing US travelers to enter. The border between the US and Canada also remains closed.