On the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) travel recommendations ranking system, the Caribbean island of Jamaica has been downgraded from level three to level two.

The decision was made in recognition of the efforts made to prevent Covid-19 from spreading.

This new classification places the destination in a risk category that is lower than more than 70% of countries throughout the world.

Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister, has expressed his delight at the new categorization.

He believes it will have a beneficial impact on the number of visitors from the United States that visit the island during the winter tourist season.

Bartlett said, “We are extremely proud that the CDC has once again lowered its Covid-19 travel recommendations ranking to a level two ranking, indicating that Covid-19 contraction level is moderate. In recent months Jamaica has been classified at level three and level four, as many Caribbean islands and other countries are unfortunately still ranked today.”

“It is undoubtedly a show of confidence in the destination and the strict health and safety policies we have in place, particularly within the tourism resilience corridors.”

He added: “I commend our health authorities and the Jamaican people for their efforts to reduce Covid-19 infection and hospitalization rates, which bodes well for our risk assessment rankings.”

According to the CDC, US residents should be fully vaccinated before travelling to destinations classified as level two.

Unvaccinated travellers who are at a higher risk of developing severe Covid-19 illnesses should avoid unnecessary travel to these areas, suggested the CDC.

A level three country, on the other hand, has a high Covid-19 prevalence, so travellers should make sure they’re completely vaccinated before going.

Unvaccinated travellers should avoid visiting these areas unless absolutely necessary.

“We encourage visitors to continue to keep Jamaica in mind when making their vacation plans and to take comfort in the fact that their visit will be safe.

“With relatively high vaccination rates and extremely low infection rates, the island continues to be a very safe place for visitors and workers alike,” said Bartlett.

By the end of 2021, Jamaica is expected to have received over 1.5 million visitors. With a solid start to the winter tourist season, tourism officials predict that by the third quarter of 2023, the country will have reached pre-pandemic levels.

– India’s new age travel digital media