State Department lifts international ‘do not travel’ advisory, but hurdles remain

The State Department late Thursday lifted its advisory against international travel for U.S. citizens after nearly five months, saying it instead would evaluate each country. 

“With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice (with Levels from 1-4 depending on country-specific conditions), in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions,” the State Department said in a statement. “We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.

While the State Department lifted the blanket advisory against trips abroad, U.S. citizens still face a number of travel restrictions as other countries seek to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Canada has barred most non-essential travel by non-citizens and U.S. citizens still aren’t allowed into the European Union, for example. The U.S. isn’t allowing foreign nationals into the U.S. if they have been in the European Union, China or Brazil for the past 14 days.

The State Department still has the highest-level advisory against travel for U.S. citizens to more than 30 countries because of the coronavirus.

In addition to international restrictions, states like New York, have ordered arriving travelers to quarantine on arrival, new rules that airline executives have helped keep a lid on demand.