Looking at the current devastating situation in India, the US government has told its citizens in India to leave. The Department of State issued a Level 4 advisory — the highest issued by them — asking citizens “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so”.
In a tweet, US department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs said, “Access to medical care is severely limited due to COVID-19 cases. U.S. citizens wishing to depart should use available commercial options now.”
The health alert also urged its citizens in India to enrol for ‘STEP’ a government alert for “critical information from the Embassy related to health and safety in India”.
In a Level 4 travel advisory — the highest issued by the Department of State — U.S. citizens were told “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.” There are 14 direct daily flights between India and the U.S. and other services that connect through Europe, the department said.
The alert also claimed the US citizens were being denied “admittance to hospitals in some cities due to a lack of space”.
Earlier, U.S. Centres for Disease Control issued a ‘Level 4 (Very High)’ warning for potential travellers to India asking them to “avoid all travel” to the country even if they are fully vaccinated.
As cases continue to rise at a breakneck pace, multiple countries have banned flights from India and put in place several added measures. France, Iran, UAE, Kuwait, Indonesia, US, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Australia, among others, have banned flights from India.
Indian authorities and hospitals are struggling to cope with record Covid-19 infections and deaths. Official data on Wednesday showed new infections rose by 360,960 in the prior 24 hours, while 3,293 additional lives were lost — both a record for the country. India has the world’s fastest-growing caseload.
