Covid: US medical body CDC urges people to avoid all travel to India

As India witnessed an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged residents of the USA to avoid all travel to India as it may heighten the risk for contracting and spreading the virus variants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) on Monday released travel recommendations by destination. It uses science-based Travel Health Notices to alert travellers to health threats around the world and advise on how to protect themselves.

The CDC has a 4-level system for Covid-19 and in that India is placed in 'Level 4: Very high level of COVID-19'.

In the note Monday, the department noted that "the Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented risks to travellers."

The CDC has urged Americans to avoid all travel to India.

“Travellers should avoid all travel to India. Because of the current situation in India even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants and should avoid all travel to India,” the CDC said in a statement.

"Because of the current situation in India even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants and should avoid all travel to India.

"If you must travel to India, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travellers should wear a mask, stay 6 feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands," it said.

The number of active coronavirus cases surpassed the 20-lakh mark in India as the country continued to record a mammoth surge in daily cases of the coronavirus disease.

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 cases mounted to 1,53,21,089 with a record single-day rise of 2,59,170 coronavirus infections, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The State Department announced Monday that it would begin to update its travel advisories to more closely align with those from the CDC. The update comes as the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, which has now claimed more than 3 million lives worldwide.

It strongly recommended US citizens to reconsider all travel abroad encompassing 80 per cent of the world.