US imposes coronavirus travel ban on Brazil

WASHINGTON (AP) — US President Donald Trump on Sunday further limited travel from the world’s coronavirus hotspots by denying entry to foreigners coming from Brazil, which is second to the US in the number of confirmed cases.

Trump had already banned certain travelers from China, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland and, to a lesser extent, Iran. He has not moved to ban travel from Russia, which has the world’s third-highest caseload.

Trump last week said he was considering limiting travel from Brazil.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany cast the step announced on Sunday as another “decisive action to protect our country” by Trump, whose management of the crisis has come under sharp scrutiny.

The US leads the world with more than 1.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and a death toll that is expected to surpass 100,000 later this week, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil, now Latin America’s hardest-hit country, is second, with more than 360,000 cases and more than 22,000 deaths. Third on the list is Russia, with more than 344,000 reported cases and more than 3,500 deaths.

The White House did not immediately respond to queries about whether a travel ban would be imposed on Russia.

“Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil to not become a source of additional infections in our country,” McEnany said.

Filipe Martins, who advises Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on international affairs, said the US was treating Brazil as it had other populous countries and suggested the news media were overplaying Trump’s ban.

“By temporarily banning the entry of Brazilians to the US, the American government is following previously established quantitative parameters that naturally reach a country as populous as ours,” Martins tweeted.

“There isn’t anything specifically against Brazil. Ignore the hysteria from the press,” he added.