Alerts were issued Monday by the CDC and the State Department advising U.S. citizens, even those fully vaccinated, against traveling to Japan ahead of the Olympics in Tokyo set for July 23 through Aug. 8 due to a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases, New York Post writes.
The CDC alert reads that travelers should avoid all travel to Japan because in the current situation even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.
The alert adds that if travel to Japan is unavoidable, travelers should get inoculated, wear masks and practice social distancing with additional testing within three to five days after returning.
The State Department went one step further issuing a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory, the highest cautionary level in its hierarchy of warnings, emphasizing that travelers should also prepare a plan for emergency situations.
With Tokyo and Osaka under a state of emergency through at least May 31, Japan confirmed more than 722,000 cases of COVID-19, along with 12,351 deaths.
Yet the United States Olympics & Paralympic Committee reckons the Olympics are still a go, saying in a statement Monday, it believes American athletes will be able to travel to Tokyo and compete safely.
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