Countries are placed at “Level 4: Covid-19 Very High” risk when more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents are registered over a period of 28 days.

According to a CNN report, three other countries were also added to the Level 4 list yesterday, namely Bhutan, Brunei and Iran. Malaysia was at Level 3 last week.

Malaysia reported 11,034 Covid-19 cases two weeks ago, but the number has been steadily rising, hitting 27,179 infections today.

As of yesterday, 7,747 non-critical Covid-19 beds in hospitals and low-risk treatment centres were being utilised by patients, or 66% of the total capacity. Covid-19 ICUs were at 34% of total capacity of 836 beds.

The CDC warned travellers against visiting countries in the Level 4 list.

“You should interpret Level 4 to mean this is a place with a lot of community transmission of Covid-19. So, if you go, there is a higher chance that you could contract the coronavirus,” according to CNN medical analyst Dr Leana Wen.

Other tourist hotspots in an earlier Level 4 list include Mexico, Canada, France, Peru, Singapore and Spain. The UK has been on Level 4 since July 2021.

In its wider travel advisory, the CDC recommended avoiding all international travel for those who are not fully vaccinated.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST DATA ON THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA