US relaxes COVID travel rating for India from Level 3 to Level 1: What does it mean for travellers

There’s good news for Americans who wish to travel to India. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State Department have eased COVID-19 restrictions, making travel to India easier. As of 28 March, the CDC put India in the ‘Level 1’ category. Prior to this, India was placed in Level 3 group. Here’s all you need to know about the categories and what it means for travellers. Level 1 to Level 4 With the onset of coronavirus two years ago, the CDC and the State Department had come up with the COVID-19 risk categories for each country. They had devised five levels for COVID risk in different countries, ranging from a “very high” level 4 to “low” of level 1, followed only by a “level unknown” rating. Based on each countries’ COVID handling, the areas were categorised in the different levels and Americans wishing to travel to those countries had to follow the guidelines set by the CDC. According to the CDC website, as of date, there are 114 countries in Level 4 – Very High COVID-19 category. Some of the countries in this grouping are Argentina, Hungary, Brazil, Italy and Malaysia. The CDC in their guidelines ask Americans not to visit these countries if possible and states that one must be fully vaccinated and follow social distancing norms if one has to travel to these regions. Similarly, the CDC has Level 3 and Level 2 categories, which are the Very High COVID-19 and Moderate COVID-19 groups. As of Monday, India falls in the Level 1 COVID-19 Low group, taking into account the fewer cases in the country. The CDC in its guidelines said: “Make sure you are vaccinated and up-to-date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travelling to India. Even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, you may still be at risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. Anyone 2 years or older should properly wear a well-fitting mask in indoor public spaces. Follow all requirements and recommendations in India.” Travel to the US All travellers above the age of two to the United States still have to present a negative COVID-19 test within one calendar day of travel. Documentation of recovery from COVID-19 is permitted when US citizens and legal residents travel into the United States by air. COVID in India COVID in India seems to be waning. India on Monday recorded 1,270 fresh coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 4,30,19,453. According to Union health ministry data, the active cases declined further to 16,187. The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, it showed. Moreover, the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 183.49 crore on Monday, the Union health ministry said. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.