New Zealand on 'high risk' travel list, America's CDC reviews omicron wave

New Zealand is now classed as 'high risk' due to Covid-19 according to America's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Photo / 123rf

New Zealand has been moved to the second highest travel risk group by America's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) following record numbers of coronavirus cases.

In response to Aotearoa's recent wave of omicron cases, the US is advising citizens to review travel plans.

As New Zealand faces a wave of omicron cases, the country was moved from Level 2 "moderate" to Level 3 "high risk" by the CDC.

Other countries considered high risk by the CDC include Bangladesh, India, Morocco, South Africa and Vietnam.

According to the CDC, New Zealand is considered Level three due to the "high level of Covid-19". Travellers are encouraged to be up to date with Covid-19 vaccines but also warned that even fully-vaccinated visitors "may still be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19".

Anyone over the age of two years should also wear a well-fitting mask in all indoor public spaces, says the CDC website.

Destination-specific levels are based on several factors, including testing rates, vaccination rates, new variants and the number of new cases reported per 100,000 people over the last 28 days.

Level 4 places have more than 500 cases, Level 3 has between 100 and 500 cases and Level 2 has between 50 to 99 cases.

In the last 7 days there have been 861 infections reported per 100,000 people in New Zealand according to Reuters.

This led to New Zealand meeting the Travel Health Notice threshold - reseverd for countries that record a higher level for 14 consecutive days, or face a significant increase in cases in a shoter time frame.

New Zealand's risk level will be reviewed over a period of 28 consecutive days before it can be reinstated to Level 2.

This isn't the first time New Zealand has been classed as a Level 3 destination. Last year the country was classed as "high risk" due to strict border closures.

Currently, there are 140 destinations classed as Level 4 including Australia, Canada, and the UK.

Just six countries are classed as Level 1, low risk; Benin, China, Falkland Islands, Hong Kong SAR, Sierra Leone and Taiwan.

The 3-level notice system was adapted to a 4-level system in November 2020, as a way to communicate the health risks involved with travel to certain destinations.