The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated travel advisories for more than 120 countries and territories.
Several countries have been downgraded from the highest level (‘do not travel’) to Level 3 – ‘Reconsider Travel’ – including Canada, France, Germany and Japan.
Others include Ukraine, Switzerland, South Africa, Mexico, and the Philippines.
The US State Department also updated its advisories to reflect the current Covid situation and vaccination rates in various countries, although it differs slightly from the CDC as it also takes into account non-health issues such as crime and terrorism risk.
"The Department of State has no greater responsibility than the safety and security of US citizens overseas. As conditions evolve, we regularly update our advice to US travellers," it said.
Advisories for much of Europe were eased.
The CDC said it made revisions ‘to better differentiate countries with severe outbreak situations from countries with sustained, but controlled, Covid-19 spread.’
