Donald Trump bans travel from Europe to US for 30 days in bid to combat coronavirus spread

Coronavirus: The symptoms 

Donald Trump has ordered an immediate shutdown of all travel from mainland Europe to the US in a bid to combat the spread of coronavirus.

The US President’s sweeping new restrictions are set to last for 30 days but will not apply to the UK, where 460 cases of the virus have now been confirmed.

Speaking just hours after world health officials declared Covid-19 a pandemic, Mr Trump addressed the nation from the Oval office to announce the new measures.

He blamed the EU for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus, saying US clusters were "seeded" by European travellers.

A traveller wears a mask in John F Kennedy International Airport in New York
REUTERS

"We made a lifesaving move with early action on China," Mr Trump said in his address on Wednesday night. "Now we must take the same action with Europe."

The 30-day ban will come into force on Friday, the US leader said.

His announcement came as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was preparing to escalate the UK's response to the deadly virus at an emergency Cobra meeting.

Ministers will, at the meeting on Thursday, assess whether the Government’s action should move out of the “containment” phase.

It comes after eight people with Covid-19 were confirmed to have died in the UK, while the total number of positive cases rose to 460.

There are 1,135 confirmed cases of the virus in the US, and some 38 deaths.

Mr Trump said the US would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.

The president said he was "marshalling the full power" of the government and private sector to protect the American people.

Mr Trump said he was also directing agencies to provide unspecified financial relief for "for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to coronavirus." The US leader said he asked Congress to take action to extend the aid.

He said the US will will defer tax payments for some individual and business filers for three months to lessen the impacts of the virus outbreak.

The Small Business Administration will also make low-interest loans available to businesses to help them weather the storm, Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump's travel order, which applies to 26 European countries, capped a day of mounting upheavals on the domestic front from the highly contagious coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

In the hard-hit Seattle area, the largest public school district in Washington state announced an unprecedented two-week suspension of all classes.

The greater Seattle area is the epicentre of the deadliest, and one of the largest, clusters of coronavirus infections in the US, accounting for the bulk of at least 38 fatalities from the disease.

There were 1,311 cases in total in the United States, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

The city of San Francisco banned non-essential social events of 1,000 people or more, and major sports competitions were affected.

The National Basketball Association said it was suspending the season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus while the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) said its wildly popular "March Madness" basketball tournament games would be played in arenas without fans.

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks announced on Twitter that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for coronavirus in Australia, where he was on a film shoot.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the annual St. Patrick's Day parade would be postponed, following several other cities that have likewise scrubbed their March 17 holiday celebrations.

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