hankyoreh

The sign for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stands outside the center’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised against travel to South Korea due to COVID-19 concerns in the country, Reuters reported.

In its revised travel advisory, the CDC raised the COVID-19 level of South Korea to “Level 4: Very High,” along with five other countries including Belarus, Azerbaijan, Comoros, French Polynesia, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

The move increased the number of countries listed as experiencing the highest level of COVID-19 according to the CDC to 137. These countries include Canada, all European countries, and most countries in Central and South America. The CDC classifies countries into the Level 4 category when the number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents exceeded 500 in the past 28 days.

There are 50 countries classified into the Level 3 category by the CDC. Unvaccinated Americans are advised against essential travel to these countries. Countries in the Level 1 and 2 categories only number 12 and include China, New Zealand, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Reuters also reported that the US State Department newly classified South Korea, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan into the “Level 4: Do Not Travel” category. The US State Department mentioned the CDC’s recommendation against travel to these countries in its travel advisory.

By Shin Gi-sub, senior staff writer

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]