The United States state department has added at least 116 countries this week to its ‘do not travel’ list.
Destinations to receive the highest, level four, rating include the UK, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, Germany and others.
Earlier this week, the state department said it would boost the number of countries receiving its highest advisory rating to about 80 per cent of all nations worldwide.
Before Tuesday, the department listed 34 out of about 200 countries as ‘do not travel’.
A statement explained the recent changes did not imply a reassessment of current health situations in some countries.
Rather, the move “reflects an adjustment in the state department’s travel advisory system to rely more on (the United States Centres for Disease Control & Prevention’s) existing epidemiological assessments”.
The recommendations are not mandatory and do not bar Americans from travel.
Other countries given the highest ranking include Finland, Egypt, Belgium, Turkey, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain.
Most Americans already had been prevented from traveling to much of Europe because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Washington has barred nearly all non-United States citizens who have recently been in most of Europe, China, Brazil, Iran and South Africa.
On Tuesday, the United States extended by a further 30 days restrictions in place for 13 months that bar non-essential travel at its Canadian and Mexican borders.