The U.S. State Department is effectively advising Americans to reconsider or halt their travel to most of the Caribbean.
The State Department issued on Thursday issued Level 4 “do not travel” advisories for several Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic, Belize and The Bahamas.
It also issued “Level 3” advisories for Americans to “reconsider” and “avoid non-essential travel” to more than a score of Caribbean nations due to COVID-19 risks.
Level 3 advisories were issued for Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Curacao, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, St. Lucia, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, The Turks & Caicos, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Dominican Republic, which has the highest COVID-19 infection rate among Caribbean countries, is the largest of six Caribbean destinations to receive a Level 4 designation.
Belize, another growing Caribbean destination, and Cuba were also tagged with Level 4 destinations.
Level 4 status was also assigned to Haiti, Guyana and Honduras, each of which had significant pre-COVID tourism activity, albeit a fraction of the largest Caribbean destinations.
The U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic reports the country has 76,536 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,246 confirmed deaths. The country has for the last several years been the most popular Caribbean travel destination, last year hosting 6.4 million land-based travelers according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data.
In addition, “News reports indicate many [Dominican] hospitals no longer have beds vacant for COVID-19 and are no longer able to accept new COVID-19 patients,” said Embassy officials. Furthermore, “Hospitalized patients may have an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19.”
Routine operations at U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo [are] suspended due to the epidemic. The State Department advisory also warns of “border closures, airport closures, travel prohibitions, stay-at-home orders, business closures, and other emergency conditions within the Dominican Republic due to COVID-19.”
