US President Donald Trump has announced new travel restrictions due to the coronavirus epidemic, banning entry of foreign nationals who recently visited Iran, while America recorded its first death from the disease.
Trump unveiled the next steps on Saturday after being pressured to attack the epidemic more aggressively, following massive market sales and criticism that he was not taking the coronavirus sufficiently. serious.
The Trump administration is also telling Americans not to travel to the regions of South Korea and Italy that have suffered the greatest contagion from the infection, and will introduce medical screenings for visitors to these regions. US officials are also considering further restrictions on its southern border with Mexico.
“It is difficult but a lot of progress has been made,” Trump told reporters. “Our country is ready for any circumstance.”
Trump spoke a few minutes after Washington state officials confirmed the first death in the United States due to the epidemic of coronavirus – a man in his 50s who had not traveled to the United States. affected country and is considered a case of “community” spread of the disease. * Officials in Oregon and California have also confirmed new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising fears of the spread of the disease in the United States, particularly on the west coast. There are currently 22 patients who contracted coronavirus in the United States, in addition to travelers brought back to the United States with Chinese disease and Diamond Princess cruise ships.
Trump said he would discuss efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine at a meeting with pharmaceutical companies on Monday. Mike Pence, the vice president, said an agreement has been made with 3M, the US manufacturer, to provide a constant supply of masks for use by healthcare practitioners.
Amid concerns over the economic impact of the epidemic, Trump urged the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy after the US central bank said on Friday that it “would do the right thing” to support the economy. “The Fed has a very important role, particularly psychological. . . our Fed should be a leader, “said Trump.
Trump has drawn criticism for calling the Coronavirus the “new hoax” being used by Democrats to hurt him politically as he heads for his re-election campaign. On Saturday, he said he was not referring to the disease as a hoax, but to Democratic criticism of his response. “It is very serious,” said the president, “but there is no reason to panic.”
Trump also highlighted improvements to the response to the crisis in China, which has suffered the worst epidemic to date. “China seems to be making huge strides, their numbers are declining,” said Trump.
After Mr. Pence was put in charge of the Trump administration’s efforts to fight the coronavirus crisis earlier this week, the White House sought to centralize its messages around the epidemic. This raised fears that technical experts would not be able to give a realistic picture of the crisis. But Anthony Fauci, a senior US health official alongside Trump at the press conference, which canceled a series of television appearances to be replaced by Pence on Sunday, said he hadn’t “not been muzzled”.
*At his press conference, President Trump said that the deceased coronavirus patient in the United States was a woman. Washington state officials later confirmed that the patient was a man in his 50s.
