The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of “very high” risk destinations for travel continues to grow as COVID cases rise in some parts of the world.

More than 140 nations are listed as “very high” risk for travel for Americans, with four new locations added by the agency Tuesday.

The CDC updated the Level 4 category by adding tourism hot spot Malaysia, along with Bhutan, Brunei and Iran to the "very high" risk list.

A Level 4 “very high” risk location is determined by having more than 500 COVID cases per 100,000 residents reported in the past 28 days.

These destinations have seen their COVID situations worsen in the last week as they were previously listed in the Level 3 “high” risk category.

The CDC’s Level 4 category now contains the majority of the world’s nations. Back in January, only 80 locations were listed there.

Most of Europe is listed as Level 4 as well as the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. Last week, the CDC bumped cruise travel from Level 4 “very high” risk to Level 3 “high” risk.

The CDC warns travelers against visiting Level 4 nations even if they are fully vaccinated, saying that Americans could “still be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19.”

Also updated on Tuesday were changes to the CDC’s Level 3 “high” risk category, which includes the popular destination of New Zealand in addition to Namibia and Timor-Leste.

A Level 3 nation is designated as having between 100 and 500 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

New Zealand was previously listed as a Level 2 “moderate” risk nation, while Namibia saw its COVID situation improve, moving down from Level 4. Timor-Leste jumped from Level 1 “low” risk to Level 3.

The CDC’s Level 2 “moderate” risk category, which has four destinations, received a new entry with Kenya on Tuesday. Kenya previously was listed as Level 3, showing an improvement in its COVID case count.

The Level 2 category is joined by Nigeria, Pakistan and Cameroon. A Level 2 nation is deemed as having 50 to 99 virus cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.

No movement was seen in the CDC’s Level 1 “low” risk category, which includes nations that have fewer than 50 COVID cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days. This category has five destinations – Benin, Sierra Leone, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

One nation was added to the CDC’s “unknown” category this week with the addition of the Madeira Islands. The “unknown” category is reserved for locations where information about a destination’s COVID situation is unreliable.

The “unknown” category also includes the nations of Tanzania, Cambodia, Venezuela, Samoa and Macau, among others.

Under the Malaysian constitution, the king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has the power to declare a state of emergency
Under the Malaysian constitution, the king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has the power to declare a state of emergency AFP / Mohd RASFAN
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