Due to rising cases of COVID-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are advising travelers to avoid New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
On Monday, the agency moved the three destinations to their highest travel advisory level because of "very high" levels of COVID-19.
According to The Washington Post, New Zealand was set to ease its COVID restrictions. Still, due to COVID cases spiking dramatically in the last few days, going from a few hundred to more than 22,000 cases on Friday, NPR reported.
CNN reported that Hong Kong has also seen a rise in cases, with more than 312,000 cases reported in the past two weeks.
The Associated Press reported that Thailand announced in January that it would begin last month to ease entry requirements for vaccinated visitors.
The agency moves countries to level 4 when they report more than 500 new coronavirus cases over the past 28 days per 100,000 people.
According to the agency's COVID risk map, there are currently 135 countries marked level 4.
