The Trump administration will extend a 30-day ban on travel from European countries to the United Kingdom and Ireland.
“All of our health experts presented information … made a unanimous recommendation to the president that we suspend all travel from the U.K. and Ireland,” Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday in a White House press briefing.
Ban on travel from the U.K. for people who are not U.S. citizens or green card holders will go into effect Monday at midnight.
President Trump announced the 30-day travel ban from European countries Wednesday night to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to address the pandemic. He initially made an exception for the U.K., though, which has reported over 1,140 cases of the coronavirus and at least 21 deaths.
“We’re looking at it very seriously because they’ve had a little bit of activity, unfortunately, so we’re going to be looking at that,” Trump said in remarks Saturday. “Actually, we already have looked at it.”
