US State Department lowers Mexico travel advisory from level 4 to 3

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The U.S. State Department on Tuesday lowered its travel advisory rating for Mexico to “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” as U.S. health officials revised its assessment of COVID-19 concerns for a number of nations.

In April, Mexico was among the 150 countries that the U.S. State Department rated as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” based on the CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Recommendations. Today that number has fallen to about 125 at the highest advisory level.

Issued on June 8, 2021, the updated advisory reads, “Reconsider travel to Mexico due to Covid-19. Exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime and kidnapping. Some areas have increased risk.”

However, the U.S. advises its citizens not to travel to five Mexican states and reconsider travel to another 11 due to crime.

Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan and Sinaloa and Tamaulipas should be avoided by U.S. travelers, according to the State Department, and citizens should reconsider plans to travel to Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Jalisco, Mexico State, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosí­, Sonora and Zacatecas.

Travelers are advised to exercise increased caution in the rest of the country. The Department of State continues to warn that crime poses serious danger to travelers. “Violent crime – such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery – is widespread,” the advisory reads.

For more information, visit travel.state.gov

While the State Department is advising travelers to reconsider a visit to Mexico, many are heading south of the border for summer vacation. Travelers who have already visited say that they feel safer in Mexico vacation destinations than they do in some U.S. States.

Mexico was among the first destinations to welcome back international tourists in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and is still one of the few countries allowing travelers to visit without proof of a negative COVID-19 test result. However, people returning to the U.S. by plane must show a negative test performed no more than three days before their scheduled flights in order to board the aircraft.

If you DO decide to travel to Mexico this summer, the Mexican government encourages everyone – even those who have been vaccinated – to continue wearing masks, respecting social distancing measures, washing their hands frequently, and coughing or sneezing into the inner part of the elbow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Sources: BN / travel.state.gov

Mexico Daily Post