INTERNATIONAL: "Do Not Travel" Advisories were issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State Department on Monday to Germany and Denmark because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in those countries.

The CDC elevated its travel recommendation to "Level Four: Very High" for the two European countries, informing Americans they should avoid travel to the two countries, while the State Department has issued parallel "Do Not Travel" advisories for both countries.

The CDC currently lists

About 75 destinations worldwide were listed by the CDC at Level Four, with many European countries on the list including Austria, Britain, Belgium, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Romania, Ireland and the Czech Republic. While listed Level Four countries in Asia include Singapore and Malaysia.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has informed leaders of her conservative party that measures being taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's biggest economy were insufficient and that stronger action needed to be taken. The number of cases in Germany have been soaring, especially among the elderly whose first two shots of COVID-19 vaccine were at the start of the year, and among children who are not eligible for vaccination.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that European countries must work harder to prevent the coronavirus spreading further as deaths and new cases surge. Current transmission rates in 53 European countries are of "grave concern" and new cases are nearing record levels, aggravated by the more transmissible Delta variant of the virus. Germany has already decided to limit large parts of public life in areas where hospitals are filling with COVID-19 patients.

Neighbouring Austria on Monday has imposed a full COVID-19 lockdown after announcing some renewed restrictions last week. German acting Health Minister Jens Spahn has warned on Friday that Germany may follow. The CDC separately lowered its COVID-19 travel advisory from Level Four to "Level Three: Low" for Israel, Aruba, the US Virgin Islands, Curacao and Guadeloupe.