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| Trump suspends travel from Europe, excluding UK, amid coronavirus outbreak | Trump suspends travel from Europe, excluding UK, amid coronavirus outbreak |
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| President delivers speech from Oval Office as US cases top 1,000 and deaths rise to 37 | President delivers speech from Oval Office as US cases top 1,000 and deaths rise to 37 |
| Donald Trump announced that the US would be suspending all travel from the EU to the US for 30 days, as the country reckons with the spread of coronavirus and the White House grapples with the severity of the situation. | Donald Trump announced that the US would be suspending all travel from the EU to the US for 30 days, as the country reckons with the spread of coronavirus and the White House grapples with the severity of the situation. |
| The restrictions would not apply to the UK, he said. He also encouraged older Americans to avoid all travel if possible. | The restrictions would not apply to the UK, he said. He also encouraged older Americans to avoid all travel if possible. |
| Trump made the announcement in a speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening on the federal response to what the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic. | |
| During the speech, Trump defended his administration’s response while laying blame on the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the “foreign virus” and saying US clusters had been “seeded” by European travelers. | |
| “We made a lifesaving move with early action on China,” he said. “Now we must take the same action with Europe.” | |
| He also downplayed warnings of a potential recession: “This is not a financial crisis, this is just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome as a nation and as a world,” he said. “The vast majority of Americans, the risk is very, very low,” he added, but he said that older Americans should avoid travel and endorsed social distancing and avoiding large gatherings. “Every community faces different risks,” he noted and encouraged Americans to listen to local officials. | |
| The president also said he would take “emergency action” to provide relief to workers who are affected. He said he was asking Congress for $50bn for small business loans. He also called for “immediate” payroll tax cuts. | The president also said he would take “emergency action” to provide relief to workers who are affected. He said he was asking Congress for $50bn for small business loans. He also called for “immediate” payroll tax cuts. |
| Trump’s speech comes on a tumultuous day as cases in the US topped 1,000 and the number of deaths rose to 37, while fluctuations in the financial markets continued and Washington strained to respond. Testifying on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that the outbreak in the US is going to get worse. | Trump’s speech comes on a tumultuous day as cases in the US topped 1,000 and the number of deaths rose to 37, while fluctuations in the financial markets continued and Washington strained to respond. Testifying on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that the outbreak in the US is going to get worse. |
| “I can say we will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now,” Fauci told the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He said it is “10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu”. | “I can say we will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now,” Fauci told the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He said it is “10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu”. |
| In a week of mixed messages and false starts, Washington suddenly seemed ready to act. “I am fully prepared to use the full power of the Federal Government to deal with our current challenge of the CoronaVirus!” Trump tweeted earlier on Wednesday, before a meeting with bankers in which he assured that “we are going to get the problem solved”. | |
| As Trump addressed the nation, some on Twitter were quick to point out the conflicting messages between Trump, who has repeatedly downplayed the threat of the new coronavirus, and officials monitoring the disease. | |
| Others questioned the logic of the European travel ban and framing the coronavirus as a foreign threat that the US has handled better than European countries. | |
| Trump praised his administration’s response to the pandemic, after making cuts to the CDC and disbanding the team that monitored global pandemics. | |
| Trump’s announcement came as US cities took increasingly dramatic steps to stop the spread of the virus. In Washington DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency as the number of identified coronavirus cases in the nation’s capital reached 10, and officials recommended gatherings of 1,000 or more people be postponed or canceled. Seattle and San Francisco have also banned large gatherings. | Trump’s announcement came as US cities took increasingly dramatic steps to stop the spread of the virus. In Washington DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency as the number of identified coronavirus cases in the nation’s capital reached 10, and officials recommended gatherings of 1,000 or more people be postponed or canceled. Seattle and San Francisco have also banned large gatherings. |
| For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. | |
| Elsewhere in the capital, the House speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled an economic assistance plan that was gaining bipartisan backing, with votes possible as soon as Thursday. The draft legislation would create a new federal emergency sick leave benefit for people with the virus or caring for a coronavirus victim. The package would also give states money for the newly jobless, and provide additional funding for food and nutrition benefits for pregnant women, mothers and young children. It also ups money for Meals on Wheels and food for low-income elderly people. | Elsewhere in the capital, the House speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled an economic assistance plan that was gaining bipartisan backing, with votes possible as soon as Thursday. The draft legislation would create a new federal emergency sick leave benefit for people with the virus or caring for a coronavirus victim. The package would also give states money for the newly jobless, and provide additional funding for food and nutrition benefits for pregnant women, mothers and young children. It also ups money for Meals on Wheels and food for low-income elderly people. |
| “Right now we’re trying to deal with the direct impact of the virus on individual citizens,” John Yarmuth, the House budget committee chairman. Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary whom Trump tapped to negotiate with the Democratic leader, urged Congress “to pass legislation quickly”. | “Right now we’re trying to deal with the direct impact of the virus on individual citizens,” John Yarmuth, the House budget committee chairman. Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary whom Trump tapped to negotiate with the Democratic leader, urged Congress “to pass legislation quickly”. |
| Agencies contributed reporting |