COVID-19: US issues 'Do Not Travel' advisory for UK amid rise in cases

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised its COVID-19 warning level for the UK to 'level 4'. The CDC has advised people to avoid travelling to the United Kingdom. The agency in the advisory added that if people travel to the UK, they must ensure full vaccination. 

Advisory for UK travellers

The US State Department raised its travel advisory for the United Kingdom to 'Level 4: Do not Travel'. In its updated advisory, the US State Department said, "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for the United Kingdom due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country." The statement added that people should follow CDC's recommendations for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers. The US authorities have issued the new advisory due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in the UK. 

The US CDC has recommended travellers to follow COVID-19 guidelines in the UK, including wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing. The recommendation comes as the British government on July 19, Monday, lifted coronavirus restrictions in England. Under the new rules, legal mandates covering the wearing of face masks and working from home have also been scrapped. UK PM Boris Johnson has urged the people to remain vigilant. According to Public Health England, UK reported 39,950 new COVID-19 cases taking the overall tally to 5,473,477. 19 new deaths were reported on July 19 taking the fatalities to 128,727. 

COVID-19 situation in the US

According to Johns Hopkins University data, the United States has recorded 34,132,079 COVID-19 cases and 609,231 have died due to the virus. According to the US CDC, as of July 19, more than 186.3 million people have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Of those, more than 161.4 million are fully vaccinated.

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