American citizens should “reconsider travel abroad” in light of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. officials urged as President Trump escalated his administration’s response to the outbreak.
“Many areas throughout the world are now experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks and taking action that may limit traveler mobility, including quarantines and border restrictions,” the State Department, referring to the disease caused by the novel virus strain, said in a Wednesday evening bulletin. “Even countries, jurisdictions, or areas where cases have not been reported may restrict travel without notice.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s team released the global travel warning at the end of a day punctuated by dramatic announcements from Western leaders about the worsening outbreak. After European officials acknowledged their struggles to contain the outbreak, Trump announced a ban on travel from the European Union.
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“A large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe,” Trump said in a Wednesday night address from the Oval Office. “To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.”
The outbreak is also impeding major military exercises between the U.S. and European allies.
“We will modify the exercise by reducing the number of U.S. participants,” U.S. European Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, announced Wednesday. “We take the Coronavirus outbreak seriously and are confident that by making this important decision we’ll continue to do our part to prevent the further spread of the virus, while still maximizing our efforts to advance our alliances and partnerships and enhancing our comprehensive readiness to address any crisis or contingency.”
Trump stated that trade between the U.S. and Europe would “apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo,” but he walked back that aspect of the policy after his live address.
“Trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe,” Trump tweeted. “The restriction stops people not goods.”
Trump has tried to soften the economic pain of the outbreak in recent weeks by maintaining that “the risk to the American people remains very low.” He abandoned that posture Wednesday, as the contagion that emerged in China in December forced high-profile disruptions to American society: the NBA announced a sudden suspension of the league’s basketball season, and the NCAA plans to hold the annual March Madness tournament in empty stadiums.
“Smart action today will prevent the spread of the virus tomorrow,” Trump said.
