How Seriously Should Travelers Take the Caribbean’s Level 4 CDC Label?

Like other travel observers I watched this week as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) added three Caribbean nations to its list of “Level 4: Covid-19 Very High” countries. Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda and Guyana were added.

The three joined Aruba, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Barthelemy, Sint Maarten and the U.S. Virgin Islands as Caribbean territories CDC advises travelers to avoid unless fully vaccinated.

First things first. I believe everyone should opt for vaccination unless their personal doctor advises otherwise. The way I see it, there’s no more appropriate time to put aside personal considerations than during a life-threatening global pandemic that’s killed nearly five million people.

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Secondly, I believe travel to Caribbean destinations remains mostly safe. In the past year, I’ve talked with dozens of Caribbean destination officials whose governments have stringently applied protocols and procedures advanced by recognized health authorities to combat coronavirus. The measures have enabled these tourism-reliant nations to safely resume leisure travel.

Caribbean countries have also been fast to change and adapt protocols in response to changing conditions. Several Level 4 Caribbean countries have implemented sweeping vaccination programs to inoculate most residents and tourism workers, even as they tackle unequal vaccine access.

That doesn’t mean regional nations haven’t suffered COVID-19 spikes. Several countries are now operating under curfews, while others have employed “no-movement” days to tackle local infection surges. In most cases, the spikes are being driven through local community spread rather than through tourism activity.

Remarkably, almost every one of all of the CDC’s Level 4 Caribbean countries is hosting U.S. leisure travelers, with the possible exception of Haiti and Guyana (both of which continue to host diaspora travelers).

In many cases, the numbers indicate many Americans may not place CDC’s Level 4 warning in high regard. In July, Antigua and Barbuda recorded the best month for visitor arrivals in the destination’s history, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Jamaica is “slightly ahead of our [visitor] projections for 2021,” Donovan White, director of tourism, said recently. He added, “We anticipate that growth will continue through the end of the year.”

Indeed, a reasonable sort (as I prefer to consider myself) might wonder what impact CDC’s warnings have on potential Caribbean vacationers in the U.S. Clearly many are visiting the region despite CDC’s recommendation.

One colleague assured me that people tend to place CDC’s alerts in perspective, if they take them seriously at all. As she pointed out, “What do you expect the government health agency to tell people?”

As for me, I’m by no means advocating travelers take CDC guidance on COVID-19 – or any other health-related issue for that matter – with anything other than the utmost seriousness.

Still, I think it’s fair to wonder how many U.S. states would warrant a Level 4 CDC designation. Many Caribbean destinations have taken extensive COVID-19 precautions, steps barely considered in some U.S. communities.

Personally, I’ve traveled twice to the Caribbean since the outbreak, to the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. I purchased travel insurance and have been vaccinated three times as I am in a risk category. I returned safely both times, bringing back some fond travel memories along the way.

I’m already planning my next visit.