CDC Adds Three Caribbean Destinations to “High-Risk” COVID-19 List

This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added three Caribbean destinations to its “high-risk” category for COVID-19—Anguilla, Jamaica, and Turks and Caicos.

All three of the destinations were moved up from Level 2 because of a rise in COVID-19 cases (all Level 3 destinations have had more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days).

“Make sure you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before traveling to these destinations. If you are not up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, avoid travel to these destinations,” the CDC’s level 3 warning reads.

The CDC recommends that travelers heading to any of the Level 3 destinations get tested with a viral test as close to departure time as possible and be fully aware of any requirements at the destination.

Those three destinations join the majority of destinations currently monitored by the CDC including The Bahamas, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the U.K., all of which are in that same Level 3. Those countries have all been on the Level 3 list since the CDC moved to its new monitoring system last month. Some Caribbean destinations are currently in Level 2, including Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Under that new system, Level 4 is now reserved for “special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern, or healthcare infrastructure collapse,” according to the CDC.

Jamaica, for its part, dropped its COVID-19 test requirement in April and eliminate its indoor mask mandate. It also discontinued its travel authorization form.