United States of America has suspended all travel from Europe to the US for 30 days in a bid to halt the spread of novel coronavirus after World Health Organization labeled it a pandemic.
In a televised address, US President Donald Trump said the European Union had failed to take the same precautions as the US in fighting the coronavirus. He announced that he decided strong but necessary actions to protect Americans from the novel coronavirus and has decided to suspend all travel from more than two dozen European countries.
"The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight," he said. The ban will not include travellers from the United Kingdom, which recently left the European Union, Trump said.
The ban will apply only to foreign nationals and not to American citizens. Acting deputy secretary at the Homeland Security Department Ken Cuccinelli in a tweet said that the ban does not apply to 'citizens or legal permanent residents or their families'.
We will be suspending all travel from Europe, except the United Kingdom, for the next 30 days. The policy goes into effect Friday at midnight. pic.twitter.com/Yeq1gVCIln
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 12, 2020