State Department, CDC Elevate Travel Advisories for United Kingdom

Image: Empty Piccadilly Circus in London during the COVID-19 pandemic. (photo via oversnap/iStock Unreleased)
Image: Empty Piccadilly Circus in London during the COVID-19 pandemic. (photo via oversnap/iStock Unreleased)
Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 10:12 AM ET, Tue July 20, 2021

The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 4 travel advisory for the United Kingdom, recommending that Americans avoid travel to the country due to COVID-19.

In the updated advisory published Monday, the department added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for the United Kingdom due to the pandemic, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. According to Reuters, COVID-19 cases in the U.K. are climbing by more than 50,000 a day.

"There are restrictions in place affecting U.S. citizen entry into the United Kingdom," the advisory states. "Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorized vaccine. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC's specific recommendations for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers."

"Avoid travel to the United Kingdom. If you must travel to the United Kingdom, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel," the CDC advises. "Because of the current situation in the United Kingdom, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants."

The U.S. is currently on the U.K.'s amber list for travel, meaning visitors should anticipate submitting to multiple COVID-19 tests and quarantine if they aren't fully vaccinated against the virus.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in the U.K. since the pandemic was first declared in March 2020.


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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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