US citizens asked not to travel Bangladesh amid pandemic

The U.S. State Department has added at least 116 countries including Bangladesh this week to its “Level Four: Do Not Travel” advisory list, citing a “very high level of COVID-19.”

On Monday, the State Department said it would boost the number of countries receiving its highest advisory rating to about 80% of countries worldwide.

Before Tuesday, the State Department listed 34 out of about 200 countries as "Do Not Travel." The State Department now lists 150 countries at Level Four. It declined to say when it would complete the updates.

The State Department said on Monday the move did not imply a reassessment of current health situations in some countries, but rather "reflects an adjustment in the State Department's Travel Advisory system to rely more on (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's) existing epidemiological assessments."