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CDC upgrades Guam’s COVID-19 alert status to highest level
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded Guam on Monday to its highest Risk Assessment Level for COVID-19 to Level 4, lumping the island territory with six other countries where CDC advises against traveling to these destinations.
Guam joins six other countries—Azerbaijan, Estonia, North Macedonia, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, and Switzerland— at the top of the CDC’s regularly-updated list of high-risk destinations for travelers. The CDC advises against travel to these destinations, but for those who must travel the CDC advises travelers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 first.
Guam has recently been posting triple digit numbers of positive COVID-19 cases: Aug. 25, 147 new cases; Aug. 26, 108 new cases; and Aug. 29, 179 new cases.
For fully-vaccinated travelers to Guam and the six other Level 4 destinations, the CDC recommends wearing a mask over the nose and mouth while in transit, and after travel self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms and following all state and local recommendations or requirements.
For unvaccinated travelers, the CDC recommends getting tested one to three days before traveling. While in transit the CDC advises wearing a mask over the nose and mouth, maintaining six-foot distance from others and avoiding crowds, and regularly sanitizing one’s hands. Upon arrival, the CDC advises unvaccinated travelers to get tested within three to five days after travel, avoiding contact with those who can be at risk of severe illness, and following all state and local recommendations or requirements.
The CDC’s COVID-19 Level scale goes from Level 1: Low to Level 4: Very High. For destinations with populations over 100,000, there has to have been more than 500 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 28 days per 100,000 population to be determined as a Level 4 destination, according to the CDC’s criteria found on its website. The CNMI is ranked at Level 1: Low.
The CDC’s regularly-updated list tracking COVID-19 risk in destinations, and further information on COVID-19 can be found at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/noticescovid19.
