-for “Very High Level of COVID-19”
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lifts Liberia’s COVID-19 crisis to Level4, indicating that the West African nation has a Very High Level of COVID-19 at the moment.
Accordingly, the CDC issues a travel advisory, cautioning U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Liberia for now.
The advisory posted Monday, June 28, 2021, on the website of the Embassy of the United States near Monrovia says if a U.S. citizen must travel to Liberia, said traveler should get fully vaccinated before coming.
However, the CDC warns that because of the current situation in Liberia, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.
Liberia’s COVID-19 has been identified as the Delta variant, one of the newest strains of the virus found in India and Britain.
Statistics from the National Public Health Institute of Liberia as of June 26, 2021, put the total confirmed cases in the country at 3,736; Active Confirmed cases1342; 120 deaths, total recoveries 2274, and 117,221 laboratory tests conducted, among others.
“Travelers should follow recommendations or requirements in Liberia, including wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart from others”, the advisory reads.
The CDC generally categorizes the severity of the virus into four levels: Level 1: Low, Level 2: Moderate, Level 3: High, and Level 4: Very High, respectively.
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It did not detail how Liberia moves from the first three levels to Level 4, dubbed as “Very High.”
“Travelers should follow recommendations or requirements in Liberia, including wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart from others.”
Liberia, Madagascar, and Guinea Bissau are three countries in West Africa, among countries in Asia, Caribbean, Southern and Latin America ranked at Level 4.
Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo are at Level 1.
Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Boni County recently warned in Monrovia that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) may suspend flights from Liberia in the wake of the serious resurgence of the coronavirus in the country.
Senator Snowe, who chairs the ECOWAS Parliamentary committee on political affairs said the regional body is worried that Liberia has the highest number of infected persons in the region.
“ECOWAS is considering that if you cannot vaccinate your people, they will not travel. Sooner or later, they will ban flights coming from Liberia”, he cautioned Monday, June 20, 2021, on a live talk show. By Jonathan Browne
