Trump shuts U.S. borders to most of Europe, bans travel to stop coronavirus spread
President Donald Trump closed America’s border to most of Europe on Wednesday night to fight the spread of the “foreign virus” by prohibiting air and maritime travel from one of the largest U.S. trading partners and travel destinations, as the coronavirus reached pandemic status.
Delivering only his second Oval Office address to the nation, Trump took the historic action in an attempt to follow on his self-proclaimed success last month when his administration suspended all travel from China as COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, rapidly spread there.
“This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history,” Trump said. “I am confident that by counting and continuing to take these tough measures, we will significantly reduce the threat to our citizens, and we will ultimately and expeditiously defeat this virus.”
But Wednesday’s move, affecting all European nations except the United Kingdom, comes at a starkly different stage in the public health crisis, after 1,281 U.S. citizens have been diagnosed with the disease, and 36 have died.
The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus’ spread a pandemic on Wednesday as over 100 nations sought to prevent contagion. Trump blamed the spread of the disease in the United States on the failure of Europe to curtail movement across its borders and made a point that the disease originated in China.
“The European Union failed to take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hotspots. As a result, a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe,” Trump said.
In an executive order outlining the decision in greater detail, Trump said that the “free flow of people” throughout mainland Europe “makes the task of managing the spread of the virus difficult.”
The restrictions begin on Friday at midnight, and will apply to all foreign-born persons who visited Europe within the last 14 days. A fact sheet on the order released by the White House said that the restrictions will be in effect for 30 days and will not apply to American citizens, legal permanent residents and their families, or goods and cargo.
“Please remember, very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods,” Trump tweeted after the speech.
Trump campaigned for the presidency in 2016 on the notion that, “without borders, you don’t have a country” – a constant theme of his time in office as he has pursued a wall on the U.S. southern border with Mexico, travel bans on several Muslim-majority nations and trade wars with China and the European Union.
Trump said he would be reevaluating his restrictions on China and a travel advisory on regions in South Korea, two of the worst-affected countries by the coronavirus.
“There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings, and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval.”
Stock markets have been volatile and futures tumbled at the news in a sign of market concern that the bans would further inhibit trade with the United States’ largest trading partner. The S&P 500 entered bear market territory on Wednesday, marking a perilous milestone for a president who has campaigned on roaring financial markets as an indicator of the strength of his economic policies.
While the president had in recent days told Americans to “stay calm” over the coronavirus, speculating that it might “go away” on its own, his Oval Office address marked a departure in tone.
Trump encouraged Americans to follow health safety guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged elderly citizens – who are most at risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19 – to avoid non-essential travel to crowded areas, and for all citizens to listen closely to the advice of local officials.
He once again said that an economic stimulus is forthcoming that will provide relief for Americans whose businesses are affected by the virus, or whose jobs do not provide paid sick leave.
“To ensure that working Americans impacted by the virus can stay home without fear of financial hardship, I will soon be taking emergency action, which is unprecedented, to provide financial relief,” Trump said. “This will be targeted for workers who are ill, quarantined, or caring for others due to coronavirus.”
“I will be asking Congress to take legislative action to extend this relief,” he said.
The administration has yet to publicly provide details.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 10:02 PM.
