(Barbados Today): The US has once again warned its citizens against travel to Barbados during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the US State Department widened its “Do Not Travel” guidance to about 80 per cent of the world’s nations.
In its most recent travel advisory issued Tuesday, the US State Department listed Barbados under ‘Level 4: COVID-19 Very High’ and recommended no travel.
Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines are also named in Level 4. The State Department had already listed 34 out of about 200 countries as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” including places like Haiti, Russia and Brazil, where a rampant variant has infected or killed thousands.
The US State Department said its decision to move Barbados to Level 4 among 130 countries was in line with travel health notices from the US Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC).

The advisory from the Bridgetown-based US Embassy for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean read: “Given current global conditions and following the travel advisory update, approximately 80 per cent of countries worldwide will have a travel advisory Level of 4: Do Not Travel, including Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“The recent travel advisory update resulted in a significant increase in the number of countries at travel advisory Level 4. We continue to strongly recommend U.S citizens reconsider all travel abroad and postpone their trips if possible.”
The embassy insisted countries were not being penalised for their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic but the move is certain to be a crushing blow to the government’s hopes of restarting the tourism industry with new anti-virus protocols.

The US statement said: “We recognise the incredible efforts of the national public health systems. This update does not imply a reassessment of the current health situation in a given country. It reflects an adjustment in the State Department’s travel advisory system to give more weight to the CDC’s existing assessments.
“Travel advisory levels take into account several factors that present risks to US citizens, including public health indicators, access to medical care, entry and exit requirements, and the ability of the US government to assist in an emergency. We also consider the mitigation strategies countries have put in place, including COVID-19 related restrictions on entry by the US and other foreign nationals.

“The COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented risks for travellers. The CDC has been consistent with that message since the start of the pandemic, and the Department’s updated travel advisories reflect that warning. We will routinely review conditions across the world and will update travel advisories when appropriate.
“We will continue to work with our Caribbean partners to defeat this virus through prevention and vaccination and advance our strong economic relationship.”
The development comes as the US marked a milestone in its coronavirus vaccination programme of getting at least half of all Americans at least one dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna jabs. This as the US also marks a grim point in the pandemic with the deaths of 568,483 Americans.
Like most of the world’s nations, Barbados has struggled to gain access to shipments of the vaccine, lagging behind the US and the UK in the procurement of jabs despite runaway death and infection rates and pockets of strong resistance to even basic hygiene practices like wearing masks.