US moves Switzerland to its highest Covid-19 risk level

On 30 August 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) raised the travel advisory risk levels of seven nations, including Switzerland, from level 3 (Covid-19 high) to level 4 (Covid-19 very high), the highest level.

The CDC and US state department advise people in the US to avoid travelling to Switzerland and recommend anyone that must travel there to fully vaccinate. Because of the current situation in Switzerland, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants, said the CDC.

Destinations in the level 4 category are places have had more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, according to CDC criteria. On 2 September 2021, Switzerland had 722 cases per 100,000 residents over 28 days, a figure well in excess of the 500 per 100,000 threshold.

In Europe, Switzerland joins the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Netherlands, France, Greece, Montenegro, Kosovo, Estonia and North Macedonia on the US level 4 list. France, Iceland and Jersey were added on 9 August 2021.

The move came as EU governments agreed to remove the US from the EU’s safe travel list. This means US visitors are likely to face tighter controls, such as tests and quarantine when they arrive in the EU depending on the country of arrival. Some EU countries, such as Germany and Belgium, had already put the US on red lists, requiring tests and quarantines.

Other nations added to the US level 4 list on 30 August 2021 include Azerbaijan, Estonia, Guam, North Macedonia, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia.

Travellers from Switzerland cannot currently enter the US unless they are US citizens or residents or meet other specified exceptions.

More on this:
CDC website (in English)

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