The US government has announced that it is expanding its travel ban on most European countries to include Britain and Ireland as it seeks to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
US President Donald Trump made the announcement in a press conference this afternoon. The ban will start on Monday at midnight Eastern Standard Time (4am GMT).
Britain and Ireland were initially exempt from his – day ban on travelers from 30 European countries that took effect at midnight on Friday.
He said: “We’re looking at it very seriously, yeah, because they’ve had a little bit of activity unfortunately, so we’re going to be looking at that.
“We actually already have looked at it and that is going to be announced. “
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Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a press briefing (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
US vice president Mike Pence confirmed the ban on travel from the UK and Ireland.
He said: “In our taskforce meeting today the president has made a decision to suspend all travel to the UK and Ireland, effective midnight Monday night, eastern standard time.”
Mr Pence said there had been a “unanimous recommendation” from health experts to extend the travel ban.
“Americans in the UK or Ireland can come home, legal residents can come home … they will will be funnelled through specific airports and processed.”
Chad Wolf, acting Secretary of Homeland Security, said Mr Trump decided to extend the ban because of the growing number of coronavirus cases in the UK – which currently stands at 1, 353.
Infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci says there are , coronavirus cases in the US but the country has not yet “reached peak” of an outbreak.
Mr Trump spoke alongside members of the Coronavirus Task Force
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Trump himself has been tested for the killer bug and is awaiting the results.
It comes as more than 01575879 People in Britain have tested positive for the virus and more than have died from COVID – 28, the disease it causes.
In the US, an – year-old woman has become the first person in New York to die from the killer bug.
The state’s governor Andrew Cuomo said the woman, who had previously suffered from emphysema, was hospitalized in Manhattan on March 3.
He told reporters the state’s tally of cases had risen to 823
Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
(Image: REUTERS)
More than 2, 20 people in the US have been infected and have died .
On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency in a move that he said would bring “the full power of the federal government” to bear on the escalating health crisis by freeing up some $ (billion in aid.
He also urged every state to set up emergency centers to help fight the virus.
The pandemic has forced public schools, sports events and cultural and entertainment venues to close across the United States.
On Friday, American shoppers picked grocery store shelves clean of products ranging from disinfectants to rice, causing retailers to race to rest ock their stores.
The US travel ban will be extended to the UK and Ireland (Image: PA)
In response to the run on certain items, major retailers have imposed some purchase limits.
Coronavirus took its biggest toll yet on this year US presidential election when Louisiana announced on Friday it had postponed its Democratic and Republican presidential primaries.
Early on Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a coronavirus aid package that would provide free testing and paid sick leave, in a bid to limit the economic damage from the outbreak.
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By a bipartisan vote of (to , the Democratic-controlled House passed a multi-billion dollar effort that would expand safety-net programs to help those who could be thrown out of work in the weeks to come.
Trump said he supported the package, raising the likelihood that it will pass the Republican-controlled Senate next week.
Economists say the impact of the outbreak on businesses could tip the US economy into recession.az
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