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CDC Lowers Brazil Covid Travel Advisory by One Notch

CDC Lowers Brazil Covid Travel Advisory by One Notch

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowered its Covid-19 travel advisory for Brazil by one notch as the pandemic wanes in Latin America’s largest economy. 

Brazil is now ranked as level 3, or “high,” according to an update posted on the agency’s website Monday. Travelers are still advised to avoid nonessential trips to the country, and make sure they are fully vaccinated if they do visit. The CDC had been recommending travelers avoid Brazil since at least May, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

Other countries ranked at level 3 include Canada, Australia, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates. Argentina, Colombia, France and Turkey are among nations still categorized as level 4, “very high” risk by the CDC. 

The new CDC recommendation doesn’t change restrictions Brazilians have in getting into the U.S., which have been in place since 2020 as the pandemic raged in the Latin American nation. Brazil is second only to the U.S. in deaths from Covid-19, and ranks third globally for most cases. 

But while virus resurfaces in the U.S. -- a comeback largely blamed on the more contagious delta variant -- the pandemic has waned in Brazil. The country has seen case and death counts consistently fall over the past weeks, allowing the economy to reopen. While full immunization is still lagging, vaccinations have picked up pace too: about 68% of Brazilians have received a first dose, compared to 63% in the U.S.  

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.