US issues Covid 'do not travel' advisory for Germany and Denmark

Advice comes as the country’s health minister warns people will be ‘jabbed, cured or dead’

Gino Spocchia
Tuesday 23 November 2021 14:53 GMT
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‘Jabbed, cured or dead’, Germany warns as Europe battles Covid-19 surge

The United States has issued an advisory warning for travellers to avoid visiting Germany and Denmark because of a heightened risk of Covid-19.

The US Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of State said a Level 4 warning was being issued against travel to Germany and Denmark, where cases are “very high”, in an update on Monday.

The two neighbouring European Union countries were issued with the classification of “Level 4: Very High” by both agencies involved in the warnings: the CDC and US Department of State.

Level 4 is the highest warning level issued by the Department of State, and US citizens should not travel to Germany or Denmark before the travel warning is lowered or removed.

The advisory warned US travelers “not travel to Germany” due to Covid-19 and that “the CDC has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for the Germany due to Covid-19, indicating a very high level of Covid-19 in the country.”

It added that the risk of “contracting Covid-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorised vaccine,” including Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

Although more than 70 per cent of people in the US, Denmark and Germany have been vaccinated, according to figures from The New York Times, the rates of infection in Europe are currently higher.

Both Germany and Denmark have seen rising Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, forcing major cities to cancel Christmas markets for another year, including in Munich.

Elsewhere in Europe, authorities in Austria and The Netherlands have reintroduced restrictions to curb Covid infections ahead of Christmas, causing mass demonstrations in both countries.

Figures on Monday showed more than 30,000 newly confirmed cases in Germany over the past 24 hours — an increase of about 50 per cent compared to one week ago, and near a record for the country.

The country’s health minister warned on Tuesday that further restrictions would be needed to curb the “dramatic” rise infections.

He warned on Monday that anybody who was not vaccinated would be infected by Covid before the end of the winter.

The CDC currently lists about 75 destinations worldwide at Level 4, including Britain, Belgium, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Romania, Ireland and the Czech Republic.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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