President Trump is imposing new restrictions on travel from Brazil as the country’s coronavirus outbreak increases, the White House announced.
“Today, the President has taken decisive action to protect our country by suspending the entry of aliens who have been in Brazil during the 14-day period before seeking admittance to the United States,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement on Sunday.
“Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country,” she added. “These new restrictions do not apply to the flow of commerce between the United States and Brazil.”
National security adviser Robert O’Brien foreshadowed the move during a Sunday talk show appearance, indicating that a decision on limiting travel from Brazil would be coming soon.
“We’re concerned about the people in the southern hemisphere and certainly the people of Brazil. They’re having a rough go of it. We’ve had a rough go of it,” he said. “We are going to take every step necessary to protect the American people.”
Brazil has reported the second-most cases of the coronavirus in the world behind the U.S. with nearly 350,000 confirmed cases, emerging as a hot spot for the virus in the Southern Hemisphere. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who does not support shutting down cities or regions over the virus, has come under fire for pushing to reopen the country’s economy.
In addition to limiting travel from Brazil, Trump also placed restrictions on travel from China and Europe earlier in the pandemic.
