The United States admits to prohibiting travelers from Europe from entering its territory due to the new coronavirus, as they already do for people from China, a senior US official said on Wednesday.
“We are asking the question of how to approach Europe as a whole,” said the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Ken Cuccinelli, during a parliamentary hearing. In his view, “Europe represents one and the same problem”, not least because of the free movement of people within it.
The same official stressed that several measures, which have been strengthened, “still do not allow to block travelers” coming from Europe. “But we are facing it,” he added without further details.
“As each country, or region in a specific case, becomes increasingly problematic, we evidently reassess the situation on a daily basis,” explained the head of Donald Trump’s administration.
The director of the Centers for Disease Detection and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfiled, had previously considered that the main risk of the epidemic spreading to the United States comes from Europe.
“The real threat to us is, from now on, Europe,” he said. “That’s where the cases come from. To put it plainly, Europe is the new China,” he added.
In early February, Washington provisionally prohibited entry into the United States for those who did not have American nationality and who had recently traveled to China.
President Trump has long invoked this drastic decision to ensure that the spread of the epidemic was under control in U.S. territory.
The State Department also recommended American citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Italy, a warning to travelers and likely to be extended, at least partially, to the whole of Europe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) today declared Covid-19 disease as a pandemic.
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