CDC warns Americans against traveling to Germany, Denmark

Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging Americans to avoid traveling to Germany and Denmark as they are experiencing spiking COVID-19 cases.

The health authority on Monday lifted both European nations to Level 4: COVID-19 Very High, which is the highest level on its four-level advisory and indicates they have recorded 500 positive cases per 100,00 residents in the past 28 days.

It said if you must travel to either country, "make sure you are fully vaccinated" beforehand.

Dozens of countries are currently under the Level 4 advisory, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland and Guernsey, which were added a week ago.

The move comes as Germany faces a "national emergency" as it combats record coronavirus infections while its neighbor Austria entered a nationwide lockdown due to soaring cases and deaths.

Germany has posted more than 349,000 cases in the past week, an increase of more than 30% from the week prior, according to data curated by worldometers.info.

On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel called for tougher mitigation measures to be put in place, according to a read out of the federal-regional consultations on the pandemic.

"It is high time for us to act," she said. "The situation is highly dramatic."

Like Germany, Denmark has also been battling skyrocketing cases, including setting a record of nearly 5,600 infections recorded on Nov. 12, according to worldowmeters.info.

In the past week, it has recorded more than 26,800 infections, representing a 21% increase from the week prior.