by Donald Wood
Last updated: 4:11 PM ET, Fri August 7, 2020
The United States Department of State lifted its Level 4 advisory for international travel on Thursday, allowing the original destination system to return for the first time since March 19.
The State Department initially warned Americans to avoid international travel during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak through a blanket advisory, but officials will now be able to judge each destination individually.
Thursday's news comes after the European Union left the U.S. off of its initial list of approved countries for travel, with America failing to make the cut twice as the country struggles to match the E.U. in its containment of the viral pandemic.
While the State Department has changed back to the original system, the Level 4 travel advisory still applies to several popular locations in the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic, Belize and The Bahamas.
The updated advisories also include Level 3 avoid non-essential travel warnings for counties such as Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Curacao, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sint Maarten, St. Lucia, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, The Turks & Caicos and more.
In the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. officials have issued a Level 3 warning for the majority of popular travel destinations, including Australia, Japan and South Korea, but lowered New Zealand to a Level 2 advisory.
Mexico may also be one of the top destinations for travelers, but the State Department has issued a Level 4 travel advisory to the country due to the viral pandemic and widespread crime and kidnapping.
For Americans looking to visit Canada, the Level 3 restrictions on discretionary travel between the two countries initially implemented in March have been extended until August 21.
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