US denies issuing guidance to Americans to leave India |
The US State Department has denied that it has issued any new guidance to American citizens in India to leave considering the COVID-19 situation. This was misperceived perhaps reported wrongly by some media, said the US State Department spokesman Ned Price clarified on 30th April India time. Price further clarified saying, "There was a `pro forma` reissuance of the travel advisory, the Level 4 travel advisory that had previously been in effect, given Covid (is) not only in India but also globally as well. So when it comes to our guidance to Americans in India, that did not change. What did change was the ability of American (diplomatic) family members to depart India on a voluntary basis should they choose to do so,". The Smart Traveler Enrollment Programme (STEP) notification issued on Wednesday that Price referred to said that "US citizens who wish to depart India should take advantage of available commercial transportation options," but did not say they should leave as claimed in some media reports.” The Centres for Disease Control has four levels of Covid-19 risk assessment for countries, ranging from Level 1 "low" to Level 4 "very high." India is one of about 135 countries currently on CDC`s Level 4 list which includes most developed countries like Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
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