The United States government has raised its travel alert for the Philippines to Level 4, implementing a no travel advisory due to the “very high” level of coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) cases in the country.
In an advisory posted on its official website on Wednesday (Tuesday in Washington, D.C.), the US Department of State said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for the Philippines due to COVID-19, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country.
According to the CDC guidelines, American travelers are advised to avoid all travel to the Philippines, even fully vaccinated travelers who may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.
Those who must travel to the Philippines despite the prevailing situation are advised to get fully vaccinated before travel and observe the existing health protocols such as wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding crowds, and washing of hands.
As of April 21, 20121, the Philippines has 953,106 total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 809,959 recoveries, and 16,141 deaths, according to the online COVID monitoring platform, Worldometer.
In terms of world ranking among countries with the most number of COVID-19 cases, the Philippines is in the 27th spot with the United States, India, Brazil, France, and Russia being on the top five.