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20 January, 2022

US slaps “do not travel” warning on Australia as Europe tightens border restrictions

Green ribbon barrier inside an airport with the warning of travel restrictions due to the spread of the dangerous Coronavirus

Health authorities in the US have warned against travelling to Australia, as the European Union drops the country from its “green list”.

The new measures come as omicron cases continue to climb across Australia, placing our per capita numbers among some of the highest in the world.

The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Australia, the highest level in its COVID travel rating system, advising Americans to “avoid travel to Australia”.

According to the notice, even fully vaccinated travellers who enter the country may be at risk of getting and spreading COVID-19, due to the current situation.

“If you must travel to Australia, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel.” the CDC notice said.

Australia now has the ninth highest number of cases per capita in the world, ranked by cases per 100,000 people, which would place them higher than both the US and the UK.

The US has recorded a total of 68.5 million cases of COVID-19 and about 858,000 deaths as a result since the pandemic began, dwarfing Australia’s total of 1.95 million cases and 2,843 deaths.

But if we look at the number of daily cases recorded per 100,000 people, especially at the moment, Australia is sitting at a seven day average of 1,830 infections per 100,000 people, while the US is recording 1,605 infections per 100,000 people, according to data from Reuters.

However, only fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible visa holders are currently allowed to travel to and from Australia without an exemption.

Meanwhile, the European Union has removed Australia from its list of countries where eased travel restrictions apply for fully vaccinated travellers.

Australia, Argentina and Canada were removed from the EU’s list of countries where its member states should gradually lift restrictions, according to a statement from the EU Council.

The restrictions only apply to unvaccinated travellers, as foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency are still allowed to enter the EU for any purpose.

As of Monday, the EU recommended its member states should only lift travel restrictions for Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Kuwait, New Zealand, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity, and the special administrative regions of China Hong Kong and Macao.

Image source: iStock/rarrarorro

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australia CDC Centre for Disease Control and Prevention European Council european union green list Level 4 Travel Health Notice Omicron restrictions travel advice