Trump shuts door on Europe for at least 30 days

President Donald Trump said yesterday he is suspending all travel between the US and Europe for 30 days beginning tomorrow as he seeks to combat a viral pandemic.

Trump made the announcement in an Oval Office address to the nation, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the ‘‘foreign virus’’ and saying US clusters were ‘‘seeded’’ by European travellers.

‘‘We made a lifesaving move with early action on China,’’ Trump said. ‘‘Now we must take the same action with Europe.’’

Trump said the restrictions won’t apply to the United Kingdom and the US would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.

Trump said he was also directing agencies to provide unspecified financial relief for ‘‘for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to coronavirus,’’ and asked Congress to take action to extend it.

Trump said the US will defer tax payments for some individual and business filers for three months to lessen the impacts of the virus outbreak. He said the Small Business Administration will also make low-interest loans available to businesses to help them weather the storm.

‘‘This is not a financial crisis,’’ he said. ‘‘This just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together as a nation and as a world.’’

Trump also reiterated his call on Congress to pass a cut to the federal payroll tax in order to stimulate the economy.

■ Tom Hanks, pictured, has just announced he and his wife, fellow actor Rita Wilson have coronavirus. And they’re on the Gold Coast, where they’ve been filming the new Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie. ‘‘We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches ... slight fevers too,’’ he wrote in a tweet. ‘‘To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus, and were found to be positive.’’ The pair are now isolated and under observation.

– AP/Nine