When Donald J. Trump — who is currently the president of the United States — signed a proclamation on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 which suspended the entry of most foreign nationals for 30 days who have been in 26 countries in Europe at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States effective as of Friday, March 13, 2020, the media went into yet another frenzy…
Ireland and the United Kingdom Added to Suspension for Most Foreign Nationals For 30 Days From Europe to the United States
…to the point in which numerous headlines suggested or implied that travel between the United States and Europe has been banned for 30 days — or altogether until further notice, in some cases — which is not the case…
…but with Ireland and the United Kingdom to be added to the list effective as of tomorrow, Monday, March 16, 2020, foreign nationals will have an even more difficult time in traveling to the United States.
The proclamation is part of an effort to protect the United States and its citizens from the pandemic of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — which is also known as COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV — and does not apply to legal permanent residents, immediate family members of citizens of the United States in general, and other individuals who are identified in the proclamation.
“Protecting the American people from threats to their safety is the most important job of the President of the United States”, according to this official statement from Chad F. Wolf, who is the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security of the United States. “The actions President Trump is taking to deny entry to foreign nationals who have been in affected areas will keep Americans safe and save American lives. I applaud the president for making this tough but necessary decision. While these new travel restrictions will be disruptive to some travelers, this decisive action is needed to protect the American public from further exposure to the potentially deadly coronavirus.”
The statement continues with “In January and February, the Administration issued similar travel restrictions on individuals who had been in China and Iran. That action proved to be effective in slowing the spread of the virus to the U.S., while public health officials prepared. In the next 48 hours, in the interest of public health, I intend to issue a supplemental Notice of Arrivals Restriction requiring U.S. passengers that have been in the Schengen Area to travel through select airports where the U.S. Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures.”
The 28 of the total of 44 countries in Europe which are affected by the amended proclamation are listed in alphabetical order:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
You can watch the complete speech by Donald Trump pertaining to this topic in this video.
This means that if you are a citizen of the United States, you are not affected by the suspension of travel from Europe to the United States. If you are not a citizen of the United States and have been to countries such as Cyprus or Romania — even within the past 14 days — you are not affected by the suspension of travel from Europe to the United States. If you are not a citizen of the United States and have been to any of the aforementioned 28 countries greater than 14 days ago, you are not affected by the suspension of travel from Europe to the United States.
At the time this article was written, at least 5,393 people have died of the minimum of 142,649 confirmed cases in 135 countries and territories worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
Summary
I am still not quite completely convinced that this policy — original or revised — will have any effect on slowing down the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
This article is the latest in a series pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in an effort to get the facts out with information derived from reliable sources.
Other articles at The Gate which pertain to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus include:
- Change Fee and Cancellation Fee Policies and Waivers of 46 Airlines Due To 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Up to 12 Ounces of Hand Sanitizer is Permitted Through Airport Security Checkpoints
- I Swear, If I Receive One More Message About How My Health and Safety are Their Top Priority…
- Four Reliable Resources For Travel and the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Just Shut Down the Entire Planet. Problem Solved?
- Stop the Hyperbole: Travel is NOT Banned Between the United States and Europe…
- Travel From Europe to the United States Suspended for Most Foreign Nationals For 30 Days
- My Unproven Secret to Not Contracting a Virus in Years
- Pandemic of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Declared by World Health Organization
- Official Warning Issued Against Travel by Cruise Ship Due to 2019 Novel Coronavirus by the Department of State of the United States
- Now the Entire Country of Italy is Under Quarantine
- 16 Million People Quarantined in Northern Italy
- Are Masks Effective Against 2019 Novel Coronavirus That People are Stealing Them?
- As Many as 46,000 People May Have Died in the United States Alone From…
- Lodging Companies Issue Travel Waivers and Elite Status Extensions 2020 Due to 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Update: More Airlines Suspended Change and Cancellation Fees 2020 Due To Coronavirus
- Airlines Which Suspended Change and Cancellation Fees 2020 Due To Coronavirus
- Should You Be Concerned About Coronavirus?
- Travel Alert February 2020: Italy Now Affected by 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Travel Alert February 2020: Northern Italy Now Affected by 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Travel Alert February 2020: South Korea Now Affected by 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- A Deal to Antarctica Because of 2019 Novel Coronavirus — But Hurry
- Update: Do Not Travel to China Due to 2019 Novel Coronavirus, Says United States Department of State
- Travel Alert January 2020: Hong Kong Now Affected by 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Update January 2020: Additional Airlines Issue Travel Waivers for 2019 Novel Coronavirus
- Travel Alert January 2020: 2019 Novel Coronavirus Affecting Air Travel
The United Kingdom is now one of the countries in Europe which is affected by the suspension of travel for most foreign nationals from Europe to the United States. All photographs ©2008 and ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
