CDC’s new covid-19 travel risk list: a European country reaches the maximum level, Guatemala improves its classification and Colombia and Peru are of “moderate risk”

(CNN) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added just one new location to your “very high” travel destination list risk this week.

On Monday afternoon, Ukraine, which has a rich architecture, and is the second largest country in Europe by land area, went from Level 3, or “high” risk for covid-19, to Level 4, the category of highest agency risk.

This is the second week in a row that the CDC has moved just one new nation to the Tier 4 ranks. Last week it was the modern city-state of Singapore.

These last two updates in October are a far cry from the situation in early August, when the CDC added 16 destinations in a week to Level 4, and cases of the delta variant of covid-19 rose rapidly across much of the planet.

Destinations that fall into the Tier 4 “very high covid-19” risk category have had more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, according to CDC criteria.

Some popular destinations remain at Tier 4

Some popular international vacation spots remained at this higher alert level, evidence of ongoing covid-19 monitoring. The current list of Tier 4 destinations includes:

• Austria
• Bahamas
• Botswana
• Croatia
• Greece
• Ireland
• Jamaica
• Maldives
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Turkey
• United Kingdom

UK has been on Level 4 since July 19. Greece has been there since August 2. Thailand has been there since August 9.

In total, there were 77 destinations around the world that were still at Level 4 on October 25.

New additions to Level 3

The Tier 3 category, which applies to destinations that have had between 100 and 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, saw a lot of action this week.

Being placed on Level 3 is a sign of progress in these seven destinations, as they all descended from Level 4:

• Guatemala
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mauricio
• Puerto Rico
• San Martin
• Sri Lanka

For three destinations, the move to Level 3 was a sign of worsening conditions. Egypt and the Dominican Republic had been at Level 2 (“moderate” risk), and the Cayman Islands had been at an enviable Level 1 (“low” risk).

You can see the CDC risk levels for global destinations on your travel recommendations page.

Cruises on Level 3

The CDC also added cruise ships, including riverboats, to its Level 3 advisory this week, warning that only fully vaccinated people should sail. The CDC said that COVID-19 “spreads easily between people in confined spaces on board ships, and the chance of getting infected on cruise ships is high.”

However, many major cruise lines only accept fully vaccinated teens and adults.

Some options in Level 2

Destinations bearing the designation “Level 2: Moderate COVID-19” have seen 50 to 99 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days.

Popular destinations in this less risky category on October 25 included the following:

Keep in mind that the CDC list is updated weekly, and your preferred, lower-risk destination may move up after you start making plans.

Level 1 and no qualifications

In the destination category “Level 1: low covid-19”, fewer than 50 new cases have been registered per 100,000 residents during the last 28 days. New Zealand is in this category, but has not yet opened its doors to leisure travelers.

Finally, there are destinations for which the CDC you have an “unknown” risk due to lack of information. As of October 25, that included Monaco, the Azores, and Tanzania.

In its broader travel guide, the CDC has recommended avoiding all international travel until you are fully vaccinated.

“Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to contract and spread COVID-19. However, international travel presents additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers may be at higher risk of contracting and possibly spreading some variants of COVID-19.” the agency said.