U.S travel ban extended to UK, Ireland
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States will broaden its European travel ban, adding Britain and Ireland to its list, and was considering imposing restrictions on travel within the U.S. to areas hit hard by
the coronavirus spread. Under the restrictions on European travel, American citizens, green card holders and others are still allowed to return home to the U.S., but will be funneled to 13 airports and be subjected to health screenings and quarantine orders.
“If you don’t have to travel, I wouldn’t do it,” Trump said.
Trump also said he had taken the coronavirus test following several interactions with people who are infected. Hours later, the White House announced that the president’s test was negative.
The White House also began testing the temperatures of everyone who’s been close to Trump; he said his own temperature was nor- mal and he was feeling fine.
Early Saturday the House approved legislation to provide direct relief to Americans suffering physically, financially and emotionally from the coronavirus pandemic. The Senate still must vote on the package. Trump has thrown his support behind it.
On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency, unleashing as much as $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the crisis.
The new travel restrictions come as Britain has seen its death toll from the virus nearly double from the day before to 21, and the number of people infected rise to over 1,100 from about 800 the previous day. Ireland had 90 confirmed cases and one death by Friday. The Irish government hasn’t released any updated figures since.
The U.S. said earlier in the week a 30-day ban on flights covered only the 26-nation Schengen area, the European Union’s border-free travel zone, which excludes Britain and Ireland. Vice President Mike Pence said the restrictions on Britain and Ireland would go into effect
midnight on Monday night. Pence added that administration officials were “considering a broad range of measures” for potential domestic travel restrictions but no decisions have been made.
“We’re going to continue to follow the facts,” Pence said. “We’re going to continue to listen to the experts about recommendations.” Britain has taken a differ- ent approach as countries across Europe and around the shut schools and universities, scrap sports tournaments and shutter bars and restaurants. The British government hasn’t yet restricted everyday activities of resi- dents by banning large pub- lic gatherings or suspending transit networks. However, domestic media outlets reported on Saturday that authorities were consid- ering banning gatherings of 500 or more people as early as next weekend.
Britain’s strategy is based on the presumption that most people in the country will eventually get the virus, and severe measures to contain it are unlikely to work. Patrick Vallance, the Brit- ish government’s chief scientific adviser, has said the U.K. was “about four weeks or so behind Italy,” where more than 15,000 infections and more than 1,000 deaths were recorded in only three weeks.
Schools in Northern Ireland were operating as usual but across the border in the Irish Republic, schools, colleges, daycare centers and cultural institutions were closed.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell canceled the coming week’s planned recess and expects swift action on the package. But top Senate Democrats called on McCo nnell to reconvene now and pass the aid package.
Trump also announced a range of executive actions, including a new public-private partnership to expand coronavirus testing capabili- ties with drive-through locations, as Washington tries to subdue the virus whose spread is roiling markets, shuttering institutions and disrupting the lives of everyday Americans.
But he asserted “I don’t take responsibility at all” for the slow rollout of testing.
The hard-fought aid pack- age will provide free test- ing, sick pay for workers, enhanced unemployment benefits and bolstered food programs.
The House passed the bill after midnight on a bipartisan vote, 363-40.
Trump tweeted his approval, a ll but e nsur- ing that wary Republicans would join with a robust vote. “Good teamwork between Republicans & Democrats as the House passes the big CoronaVirus Relief Bill,” he tweeted Saturday. “People really pulled together. Nice to see!”
The crush of activity capped a tumultuous week in Washington as the fast-moving virus left ordinary Americans suddenly navigating self-quarantines, school closures and a changed way of life.
Trump took a number of other actions to bolster energy markets, ease the financial burden for Americans with student loans and give medical professionals additional flexibility in treating patients during the public health crisis.
Central to the aid package from Congress, which builds on an emergency $8.3 billion measure approved earlier, are the free testing, sick pay and family leave provisions. Providing sick pay for work- ers is a crucial element of federal efforts to stop the rapid spread of the infec- tion. Officials warn that the nation’s healthcare system could quickly become overwhelmed with gravely sick patients, as suddenly hap- pened in Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus.
The ability to ensure paychecks will keep flowing — for people self-quarantining or caring for others — can help assure Americans they will not fall into finan- cial hardship. The legislation also offers three months of paid family and medical leave. Small and mid-sized employers will be reimbursed through tax credits.
Both Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Pelosi promised a third coronavirus package will follow soon, with more aggressive steps to boost the U.S. economy, which economists fear has already slipped into recession.
The financial markets closed on an upswing after one of the worst nosedives since 1987.
Trump on Friday also told people to expect the imminent rollout of a web site “facilitated” by Google that would guide users through a series of questions to determine whether they should be screened for the virus. If testing is recommended, users would be directed to a local testing location, which could include parking lots at Walmart, Target, Walgreens and other chains.
“It’s go i ng to be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past,” Trump said in a thinly veiled dig at the Obama administration’s disastrous rollout in 2013 of its online health care marketplace.
But how quickly is in question. Google said the website, from its life science division Verily, is still “in the early stages of development.”