CDC Changes to Travel Advisories Ease Travel Petition Requirements

The Center for Disease Control has suspended its country-specific travel advisories established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will ease the travel petition requirements for those on campus traveling internationally.

The CDC has suspended its four-tiered travel advisory system, returning to the three-tiered system of Watch Level 1, Alert Level 2 and Warning Level 3. Per Academic Policy 1835.00, travelers traveling to locations with a CDC Level 3 warning, or Department of State Travel Advisory of Level 3 or 4, must still petition for exception to the policy at least 6-10 weeks before departure. While the university's academic policy hasn't changed, the change in CDC's system means fewer countries fall into Level 3 categorization that requires a petition under the policy.  

Under the CDC's previous travel advisory system, members of the campus community traveling internationally were required to petition for an exception for countries that were categorized under Levels 3 and 4.  

Travelers should refer to the appropriate DOS and CDC websites to understand travel warnings and risks. 

More information can also be found on the university's COVID-19 website.