US issues 'level one' health notice for India

US travellers to India stand a mild chance of contracting Covid-19 and the chance is lowered if they have been vaccinated with both doses of an FDA-approved vaccine, a health advisory notice issued by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention this week. Level One is classified as "low risk" according to the CDC scale which ranges up to Level Four or "very high".

99 countries have agreed to a vaccine-recognition pact with India, where the citizens of these countries will enjoy quarantine-free travel. India welcomed Foreign tourists for the first time in over a year at the Mumbai airport today according to a tweet by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

However the travel advisories issued for India and Pakistan are of level two and three, cautioning tourists to be wary of "crime and terrorism" in India, with warnings for US travellers not to visit Kashmir or areas near the Line of Control due to the potential for 'armed conflict'. Citizens are urged to reconsider travel to Pakistan due to terrorism and sectarian violence, the US State Department said.

"Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crimes, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations," it said. In the same travel advisory issued for Pakistan, the department urged US citizens not to travel to Balochistan province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), due to terrorism and kidnapping, and also in the immediate vicinity of the Line of Control due to terrorism.