US limits travel from Brazil over virus fears
THE White House on Sunday said it was restricting travel from Brazil to the United States, two days after the South American nation became the world’s No. 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases.
The travel ban was a blow to right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has followed the example of US President Donald Trump in addressing the pandemic, fighting calls for social distancing and touting unproven drugs.
“The US maintains a strong partnership with Brazil and we work closely to mitigate the socioeconomic and health impacts of COVID-19 in Brazil,” the US Embassy in Brasilia said in a statement.
The new restrictions come into force on May 28, the embassy said, prohibiting most non-US citizens from traveling to the US if they have been in Brazil in the last two weeks. Green card holders, close relatives of US citizens and flight crew members, among select others, would be exempt.
Brazil’s foreign ministry called it a technical decision in the context of “important bilateral collaboration” to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting US donations of US$6.5 million and a new White House promise of 1,000 respirators.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure foreign nationals do not bring additional infections to the US, but would not apply to the flow of commerce between the two countries.
US National security advisor Robert O’Brien earlier on Sunday told CBS that he hoped the move could be reconsidered at some point.
“We hope that will be temporary, but because of the situation in Brazil, we’re going to take every step necessary to protect the American people,” he said.
An advisor to Brazil’s president played down Trump’s move, highlighting shared views on fighting the virus with unproven anti-malarial drugs such as hydroxychloroquine.
“There is nothing specific against Brazil,” tweeted Filipe Martins, an advisor on international affairs to Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s Health Ministry raised its tally of confirmed cases by 15,813 on Sunday to 363,211 cases, second in the world behind the US.
(Reuters)