US relaxes travel restrictions for India as COVID situation improves; key points you must know
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US State Department have eased travel advisory for India, lowering it to Level 2 indicating a moderate level of COVID-19 in the country. This decision has been taken considering the significant improvement in the Covid situation. Earlier the US had placed India in Level 4 and asked its citizens not to travel to India to avoid contracting the virus during the second wave of COVID-19.
“Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorised vaccine. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC’s specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers,” the state department said in a statement.
The state department also urged American’s not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir due to terrorism and civil unrest. Last month, the US had relaxed travel restrictions for India, lowering it to Level 3 from the highest Level 4. Level 4 denotes no travel while Level 3 urges citizens to reconsider travelling only when urgent.
The old advisory asked the US citizens to reconsider travel to India due to COVID-19. It also advised the US citizens to exercise increased caution due to crime and terrorism.
“Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorised vaccine. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC’s specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers. Reconsider travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution due to crime and terrorism,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its Level 3 Travel Health Notice for India.
Key points of Level 2 advisory
- Make sure you are fully vaccinated before traveling to India.
- Unvaccinated people should avoid nonessential travel to India.
- Travelers should follow COVID norms in India.
Important points to note:
1) Level 3 means that Americans can reconsider travel to the country due to serious risks of safety and security.
2) US citizens still willing to travel to India are strongly urged to get fully vaccinated. They are also recommended to take all the necessary safety measures to protect themselves, which includes maintaining social distance, using hand sanitizer, and wearing masks, among others.
3) The CDC also recommends that citizens must get their flu shots to protect themselves better from a major flu outbreak.
4) US citizens traveling to India must obey all the measures introduced by Indian officials, designed to protect them from contracting the virus.
