US issues travel advisory against India as Covid-19 cases surge

As the Covid-19 cases in India spurt to unprecedented levels, the United States has asked its citizens to avoid travelling to India. "Even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading variants and should avoid all travel to India. If you must travel to India, get fully vaccinated before travel," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an advisory.

This comes a day after the US state department said that it would issue specific warnings against travelling to roughly 80% of the world's countries due to pandemic risks. It also asked Americans to reconsider their international travel plans before proceeding in view of the viral infection resurfacing in many countries. "The Covid-19 pandemic continues to pose unprecedented risks to travelers. In light of those risks, the Department of State strongly recommends US citizens reconsider all travel abroad," it said.

However, the department has not revealed which countries will fall under which category. That will become known as guidance is issued individually for each country in the coming week.

The United States hasn't had a global advisory warning against international travel since August when guidance was revoked by the Trump administration. The state department's assessments for classification of the countries include Covid-19 infection rates as well as the availability of local testing and treatment.

The number of active cases in India crossed the two million mark as the country continued to record a mammoth surge in daily cases of the coronavirus disease. The number has doubled in just 10 days, marking a grim milestone in the fight against the pandemic. Active cases in the country crossed the 1 million active cases mark on April 10.

Active cases are those in which Covid-19 patients are still carrying the virus and thus under treatment. It is a crucial metric representing the country's battle against the coronavirus disease because it directly reflects the pressure on the health care system in a region. The positivity rate has also doubled in the last 12 days to 16.69 per cent.