CDC Upgrades British Virgin Islands’ COVID-19 Advisory Category

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday raised its COVID-19 advisory level for the British Virgin Islands (BVI) from Level 2 to Level 3.

The BVI is the only destination to be added to Level 3, which is now the CDC’s highest advisory level outside of the Level 4 “special circumstances” category, this week.

“Make sure you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before traveling to the British Virgin Islands. If you are not up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, avoid travel to the British Virgin Islands,” the Level 3 warning reads.

The BVI still requires fully vaccinated travelers to provide results of a negative PCR test or antigen rapid test within 48 hours of arrival and provide proof of travel insurance.

Those who are not vaccinated need to register on the BVI Gateway Travel Application Portal, provide a negative PCR test result taken three to five days prior to arrival, provide proof of travel insurance, and then quarantine “within the confines of an approved property or vessel for a 4 day period.”

With the move, the BVI joins the majority of countries currently monitored by the CDC in Level 3 including France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the U.K., and more. Those countries have all been on the Level 3 list since the CDC moved to its new monitoring system last month.

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.