US Travel Advisory to Level 2 for India

Last Updated on Jul 11th, 2024 by Priyanka Jadhav, 2 comments

Introduction

With the Covid-19 situation improving significantly in India, the United States on August 23 announced that they will be lowering the US travel advisory for India to Level 2: moderate. This decision comes after the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) stated that the South Asian nations now have a moderate level of Covid-19. Earlier this year, the US had placed India in the Level 4 category, urging its citizens not to travel to India from US due to the unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases across the country. 

Eventually, in July, the United States improved the India travel advisory to Level 3 recommending citizens to reconsider travel. On May 5, the CDC issued a Travel Health Notice for India, “Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorised vaccine. It is necessary to review the CDC’s specific recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers before planning to travel internationally. Reconsider travel to India due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution due to crime and terrorism.”

Although the State Department relaxed US  travel restrictions for India to Level 2, the nation advises its American citizens to not travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except the Leh-Ladakh region, due to civil unrest. They have also advised the citizens to not travel within 10 km of the Indo-Pak border due to the potential for armed conflict. 

US Issues Level 2 Travel Advisory: Moderate Level of Covid-19

The US State Department travel advisory mentioned key things to follow before and after travelling from the USA to India. 

• Make sure you are fully vaccinated before travelling to India.
• Unvaccinated travellers are at increased risk of contracting Covid-19 must avoid non-essential travel. If you need to travel and have concerns, talk to your doctor. 
• Travellers exposed to Covid-19 must isolate themselves immediately and wait for the results to travel.
• Travellers should follow the requirements of India, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. 

Before Travel

In the case of international travel, make sure to follow the necessary rules of the airlines and destinations related to travel, testing and quarantine. If you fail to follow these requirements, you could be denied entry to your destination.

During Travel

It is necessary to follow the rules and regulations of ensuring safety measures while travelling. Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required at all times on every form of public transportation like buses, planes, trains, etc while travelling within or out of the United States. It is also necessary to follow the social distancing rules while in transportation hubs like airports and stations. 

Conclusion

With travel advisory lowering to Level 2 and the US urging citizens to travel to India with safety measures, it now remains to be seen that when will the US completely remove restrictions imposed on travellers from India at the start of the deadly second wave that caused more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported.