The Trump administration will extend its European travel ban to include the U.K. and Ireland as part of continuing efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump said Saturday.
“We are looking at it very seriously, yeah, because they’ve had a little bit of activity unfortunately,” he said when asked in the White House briefing room about reports that the ban would be extended. “So we’re going to be looking at that -- we actually already have looked at it and that is going to be announced.”
Vice President Mike Pence confirmed later in the briefing that the travel would be suspended - going into effect midnight Monday night EDT. He said it was after the unanimous recommendation from health experts at the White House.
EUROPEAN UNION LASHES OUT AT TRUMP OVER TRAVEL BAN AMID CORONAVIRUS CHAOS
Pence emphasized that Americans currently abroad will be allowed to return home, but will be tested for the virus on their return through certain, limited airports. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said that it specifically applies to foreign nationals who have been in the U.K. or Ireland in the last 14 days and that it does not apply to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and foreign diplomats. It also does not apply to cargo.
Wolf also said that major cruise lines have agreed to suspend outbound trips for 30 days, that smaller lines had followed suit, and that in some limited cases the government had given orders to "a small handful" to not sail. Those restrictions began late Friday, he said.
Trump announced late Wednesday that travel from Europe would be restricted for 30 days -- but he initially exempted the U.K. and Ireland. The Department of Homeland Security went on to clarify that the ban affects most foreign nationals who were in Europe’s passport-free “Schengen Area” within 14 days prior to traveling to the U.S.
The area in question consists of 26 countries, including France, Italy, German, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, and Sweden. The Trump administration had slapped a travel ban on foreign nationals who had visited China and Iran last month.
“The U.K. basically has got the border, strong borders and they're doing a very good job, they don't have much infection and hopefully they'll keep it that way,” he said.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a close ally of Trump, who has in turn supported Johson's push to take Britain out of the European Union. Critics had questioned whether Britain’s exemption was politically motivated.
The move also provoked anger from European leaders, who said they weren’t consulted and that the global pandemic requires “cooperation rather than unilateral action.”
“The European Union disapproves of the fact that the U.S. decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation,” EU Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. “The European Union is taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus.”
On Friday, as Trump announced that he was declaring a national emergency related to the spread of the virus, he was asked about his decision to exclude U.K. and Ireland from the ban.
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"Well, that was recommended to me by a group of professionals, and we are looking at it based on the new numbers that are coming out," he said. "And we may have to include them in the list of countries that we will, you could say, ban -- or whatever -- it is during this period of time."
"But, yeah, their numbers have gone up fairly precipitously over the last 24 hours, so we may be adding that, and we may be adding a couple of others. And we may, frankly, start thinking about taking some off."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiRWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZveG5ld3MuY29tL3BvbGl0aWNzL3RydW1wLWV1cm9wZWFuLXRyYXZlbC1iYW4tdWstaXJlbGFuZNIBSWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZveG5ld3MuY29tL3BvbGl0aWNzL3RydW1wLWV1cm9wZWFuLXRyYXZlbC1iYW4tdWstaXJlbGFuZC5hbXA?oc=5
2020-03-14 16:43:07Z
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