WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has raised its travel advisory alert for Canada to a "level？4？–？do not travel" status amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

       The department, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Monday warned against travel to Switzerland, among other countries because of rising cases of the novel coronavirus.

       (Reporting by Susan Heavey)