CDC discourages travel to Russia, Belgium, Slovakia and Burkina Faso due to COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to avoid traveling to a new batch of countries, including Russia and Belgium, because of high levels of COVID-19.

This week, Slovakia and Burkina Faso joined the public health agency's running list of destinations U.S. travelers are discouraged from visiting amid the pandemic.

"Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants," according to the CDC.

Russia had the third-highest number of coronaviruses cases in the world over the past 28 days – more than 917,300 cases, according to John Hopkins data. The U.K., which the CDC previously discouraged visiting, had the second-highest cases, and the USA had the most, with more than 2.2 million cases over the same period.

► Is travel insurance worth it? What it protects and what it does not

► You can still redeem your travel vouchers: How to make sure you don't lose your credits

The CDC said people who must visit countries with high case counts of COVID-19 should be fully vaccinated and those who are not should not travel internationally.

Starting next Monday, unvaccinated Americans will face tighter restrictions traveling internationally. They'll need to provide negative results from a coronavirus test taken within one day of departure instead of three days.

The change is part of a travel system beginning Nov. 8, which will reopen U.S. borders for vaccinated tourists, with few exceptions.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CDC warns travelers to avoid Russia, Belgium due to COVID-19