Travel Warnings!

During the month of November, three new travel warnings were issued by the U.S. government:

11/5  CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

11/12  SYRIA

11/14  COLUMBIA

This means that our government is advising against non-essential travel to these places. Travel warnings are issued due to an unstable government, civil unrest/terrorism, natural disasters, and health concerns.

Regarding the latter, keep in mind that the only countries with Ebola-related travel warnings are three West African countries: Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. There has been no other reported cases or problems anywhere else in Africa, except a recent concern in Mali (bordering country to Guinea, West Africa). For more on Ebola Virus, see http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/qa.html

The U.S. government has issued a Worldwide Caution for all American citizens due to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated  terrorist organization in Syria and Iraq. This is to make citizens aware that there may be a potential threat of kidnapping and terrorist attacks in certain parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. For more on this, visit http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/worldwide-caution.html

For more information about worldwide travel warnings and alerts, go to http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings.html