The United States Department of State announced changes to its travel advisory ratings, including reducing the alert levels for the United Kingdom and Israel.

According to Reuters.com , the State Department lowered the UK to a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” rating and lowered Israel to “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution” rating after previously raising warning levels last month amid COVID-19 concerns.

In April, the State Department announced the addition of around 80 percent of countries worldwide to the agency’s “Level 4: Do Not Travel” due to the “unprecedented risk to travelers” from coronavirus infections.

At the time, the UK and Israel were added to the Level 4 category.

Earlier this month, Government officials in England revealed several COVID-19 related restrictions would be lifted on May 17, when international travel is scheduled to resume.

Transatlantic air travel is a key market for airlines, forcing a group of aviation industry companies and organizations to send a letter last week to U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on the pair to reopen the air corridor to non-essential travelers.

After more than a year of being closed to international travel, Israel announced in April it would welcome visitors from foreign countries who have been vaccinated for COVID-19, starting on May 23.