The United States has reclassified Switzerland’s COVID-19 status, raising it to the highest level and advising against travel to the country.
The US has issued a “do not travel” advisory for those heading to Switzerland and has warned US citizens within the country of rising COVID-19 infections. A statement released by the US stressed that citizens who are already in Switzerland or are thinking of heading to the country are at risk of catching the virus, even if they are fully vaccinated.
Switzerland is not the only country to be added to the US’ top COVID-19 risk classification; the country has also warned travellers to avoid heading to Estonia and Azerbaijan for the time being. Germany and Canada have been added to the second-highest level.
According to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), infections in the country are now around 2.500 cases per day, with roughly 60 people being admitted to hospital for treatment of COVID-19 daily.
The United States’ reclassification of Switzerland’s travel status comes just one day after the European Union removed the US from its own “Safe Travel List." Though Switzerland is not an EU member state, the country has recently stressed the possibility that it will be implementing travel restrictions and mandatory quarantines for foreign arrivals, similar to those recently introduced by the EU.