Montserrat Among Five Destinations Added to High Risk Category for Travelers by US CDC

Montserrat is among five new destinations added by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to its list of “high” risk category for travelers.

Montserrat joins St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Central American country of Belize, the Bahamas archipelago in the North Atlantic and the southern African country of Eswatini in the move to Level 3, or "high" risk for Covid-19.

Montserrat moved up two risk levels from the Level 1 or “low” risk rating following a recent spike in Covid-19 cases.

The number of active cases on Montserrat is now 95.

The Ministry of Health is investigating the cause of death of two persons who were diagnosed with COVID-19. 290 persons are in quarantine and two persons remain hospitalized.

Four of the other destinations were previously listed as Level 2, "moderate" risk: Bahamas, Belize, Eswatini and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

In April, the CDC overhauled its ratings system for assessing Covid-19 risk for travelers.

The Level 3 "high" risk category is now the top rung in terms of risk level. Level 2 is considered "moderate" risk, and Level 1 is "low" risk.

Level 4, previously the highest risk category, is now reserved only for special circumstances, such as extremely high case counts, emergence of a new variant of concern or health care infrastructure collapse.

Under the new system, no destinations have been placed at Level 4 so far.

Overall, the past four weeks of advisories have seen little in the way of the dramatic shifts in status that characterized this past winter and early spring during the original Omicron variant surge.