The CDC’s new ratings were first reported by Reuters and posted on a CDC website on Monday, include 61 nations that were lowered from its highest “Level 4” rating that discouraged all travel to recommending travel for fully vaccinated individuals, the agency confirmed on Tuesday.
Another 50 countries and territories have been lowered to “Level 2” or “Level 1,” a CDC spokeswoman said. Countries ranked lowest for COVID-19 risks now include Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Iceland, Belize and Albania.
Among those now listed at “Level 3,” are France, Ecuador, Philippines, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Honduras, Hungary, and Italy.
A U.S. State Department official said it was in the process of revising its travel advisory to reflect the CDC changes.
As of early Tuesday, the State Department had lowered its ratings on more than 90 countries and territories, including for Japan.
On May 24, the State Department had urged against travel to Japan, citing a new wave of coronavirus cases before the Tokyo Olympics are set to begin July 23.
The State Department warning raised concerns and prompted the White House to reaffirm its support for Tokyo’s plan to hold the Games this summer and for U.S. athletes competing there despite a new wave of infections and low vaccination rate in the host country.
CDC 的新评级首先由路透社报道，并于周一发布在 CDC 网站上，其中 61 个国家从其最高“4 级”评级下调，该评级不鼓励所有旅行，建议为完全接种疫苗的个人旅行。
CDC 发言人说，另外 50 个国家和地区已降至“2 级”或“1 级”。 COVID-19 风险排名最低的国家现在包括新加坡、以色列、韩国、冰岛、伯利兹和阿尔巴尼亚。
现在列为“第 3 级”的国家包括法国、厄瓜多尔、菲律宾、南非、加拿大、墨西哥、俄罗斯、西班牙、瑞士、土耳其、乌克兰、洪都拉斯、匈牙利和意大利。
美国国务院一位官员表示，它正在修改其旅行建议，以反映 CDC 的变化。
截至周二早些时候，美国国务院已经下调了包括日本在内的 90 多个国家和地区的评级。
5 月 24 日，美国国务院以东京奥运会定于 7 月 23 日开幕前出现新一波冠状病毒病例为由，敦促不要前往日本。
国务院的警告引发了担忧，并促使白宫重申支持东京在今年夏天举办奥运会的计划，并支持在东道国出现新一波感染和低疫苗接种率的情况下在那里参加比赛的美国运动员