(Washington) US authorities on Monday advised their nationals to avoid traveling to Germany and Denmark, hit hard by the new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that is spreading in Europe.
The State Department issued two bulletins falling to Level 4, the highest level of warning, its level of alert for these two countries, indicating “a very high level of COVID-19”.
This announcement comes as Europe struggles to stem a new wave of the pandemic, against the backdrop of sometimes violent protests, especially in the Netherlands against health restriction measures.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn, whose country recorded a record of more than 65,000 daily infections last week, darkly warned that “almost everyone will be vaccinated, cured or dead” by end of winter.
In Germany, the vaccination rate is below 70%, which is a lower level than in other European countries such as France, where it reaches 75%.
To counter this wave, neighboring Austria, despite a strong grudge expressed in the streets this weekend, has again confined its population until December 13.
The State Department had already raised its alert level to level 4 in August concerning France – since lowered to level 3 – then Switzerland, already because of the increased health risk in the face of the epidemic situation.