As the number of coronavirus or COVID-19 cases continue to go up in the United States, the measures being taken are becoming more extreme over time. President Donald Trump recently mentioned that there is a possibility that a travel ban between states may be implemented.
Speaking to the press in the Oval Office, Trump was asked regarding travel bans and if an inter-state travel ban would be possible. The president confirmed the possibility, although the administration has yet to address that possibility to states such as Washington and California, where the cases are high. “Is it a possibility? Yes, if somebody gets a little bit out of control, if an area gets too hot,” said Trump.
The President then cited the city of New Rochelle as an example, now known as a containment zone in the state of New York. It is also known to be the first coronavirus containment zone in the country, where the National Guard troops deliver food for school lunches as well as helping disinfect and sanitize public facilities.
This confirmation comes after his announcement of restricting travel from European countries to the United States, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The restriction applies to the 26 countries in the Schengen Area, made up of Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. This will only apply to foreigners who have been to any or all of the 26 countries listed in the past two weeks.
Along with the United Kingdom and Ireland, the European countries that are not part of the Schengen Area would also become exceptions to the travel restriction. Countries like Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey, and Ukraine have also become exceptions.
From all the European countries that have been affected by the coronavirus, Italy has the highest number of cases with over 12,000 compared to France, Germany, and Spain, with over 2,000 cases respectively.
The White House statement explained that containment of the virus is difficult among those 26 countries whom restrictions were imposed on. “The free flow of people between the Schengen Area countries makes the task of managing the spread of the virus difficult.”