US Adds Travel Bans for 7 Countries Including France, Thailand, and Israel

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[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The United States has added seven countries, including France, Israel, and Thailand, to the list of countries banned from travel for COVID-19 prevention.

According to CNN and others on the 9th (local time), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added France, Israel, Thailand, Iceland, French Polynesia, Eswatini, and Aruba to the Level 4 travel ban list. Currently, 34 countries including North Korea, Russia, Iran, Myanmar, and Afghanistan are classified as Level 4.

The U.S. Department of State divides travel advisories for Americans into four levels: Level 1 (General Precautions), Level 2 (Enhanced Precautions), Level 3 (Reconsider Travel), and Level 4 (Do Not Travel), adjusting them according to CDC recommendations.

On this day, the Department of State included the seven countries in the Level 4 travel advisory category. Additionally, Austria, Croatia, Bolivia, Malawi, Vietnam, El Salvador, Kenya, Jamaica, Azerbaijan, and Trinidad and Tobago were added to Level 3 (Reconsider Travel).

South Korea was downgraded from Level 3 to Level 2 last November and further eased to Level 1 in June this year. However, due to a rapid increase in confirmed cases caused by the spread of the Delta variant, it was raised back to Level 2 on the 2nd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.