Trump suspends travel from Europe to US over coronavirus

AKIPRESS.COM - US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new travel restrictions on Europe in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus, BBC reports.
In a televised address, he said all travel from European countries would be suspended for the next 30 days.
But he said the "strong but necessary" restrictions would not apply to the UK, where 460 cases of the virus have now been confirmed.
There are 1,135 confirmed cases of the virus across the US, with 38 deaths.
"To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe," Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday.
"The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight," he added.
Mr Trump said the European Union had "failed to take the same precautions" as the US.
He spoke just hours after Italy - the worst affected country outside China - announced tough new restrictions. It will close all shops except food stores and pharmacies as part of its nationwide lockdown.
Mr Trump said the travel suspension would also "apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo" coming from Europe into the US.
He also announced plans to provide billions of dollars in loans to small businesses, and urged Congress to pass major tax relief measures in an attempt to stymie the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on the US economy.