US revises travel alert amid rising COVID cases; Canada, Switzerland on the list

The United States on Monday revised its travel advisory and raised an alert for various nations including Canada, Switzerland and many US Island regions like Puerto Rico and Guam amid the coronavirus surge. For Canada, the travel advisory alert has been elevated to ‘level 3- reconsider travel’, said a Department of State release.

The department along with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against travel to Switzerland due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the region.

Switzerland has been reporting a high rise in cases of coronavirus due to which the country’s administration is reconsidering bringing back COVID related restrictions.

Swiss Interior Minister Alain Berset recently said that he is considering mandating quarantine for travellers coming to the nation amid the autumn holidays. The daily COVID tally in Switzerland has touched 2,500-3,000 again, the surge is reportedly driven by the highly infectious Delta variant.

The CDC also raised its COVID travel warning to “level 4: very high” status for the US island territories of Puerto Rico and Guam.

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Meanwhile,  Puerto Rico on Tuesday announced that it would close private business once again to counter the rising virus cases. The region is also going to mandate masks in places where 50 people or more are gathered and prohibiting elective surgeries, subject to medical criteria, which require the use of post-operative intensive care units.

The United States, which has fully vaccinated over 174 million people, is reporting a high rise in cases of coronavirus cases signalling another potential COVID-19 wave. The cases are believed to be driven by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus, which is leading to more hospitalisation and the need for oxygen for the patients.

Southern US states have been facing a shortage of oxygen, as COVID-19 cases continue soaring. Hospitals in Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Louisiana are at risk of having to use their reserve supply or risk running out of oxygen imminently.