CDC Upgrades Jamaica to “Level 4: Very High” Travel Risk

Another popular Caribbean island has found itself on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of places to avoid due to rising COVID-19 cases. Jamaica was added to the CDC’s Level 4 Travel Advisory list meaning people should avoid travel to the island. Those who must travel to Jamaica are urged to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Several other Caribbean islands are already at Level 4 including the Bahamas, St. Maarten, Dominica and Aruba. 

Just last week, both Puerto Rico and St. Lucia also found themselves added to the Level 4 list after reaching the threshold of over 500 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. Much like other places around the world, Jamaica has seen a dramatic spike in positive cases since the summer began prompting the CDC to adjust their travel advisory. 

The CDC published the following warning on their website: 

Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks, and even fully vaccinated travelers might be at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading some COVID-19 variants.

What’s the Safest Island in the Caribbean for Travel? 

There is one Caribbean island that the CDC has classified as a Level 1: Low Risk country. While other islands in the region opened months ago, the Cayman Islands opted for a slower, phases approach to reopening and as a result, they’ve kept COVID-19 transmission to a minimum. The island has reported just 715 total cases since the pandemic began and only two deaths in that time. 

Cayman Island officials hope to have 80% of the population fully vaccinated before fully reopening the island for tourism. Quarantine will not be required for fully vaccinated travelers starting on October 14, 2021. Unvaccinated travelers will be required to complete a 14-day quarantine.

As of now, the plan is to have a full reopening by the end of January 2022.