It's official. We have a pandemic.
Tom Hanks has the virus. The NBA has cancelled the rest of its season. New York City has cancelled its St. Patrick's Day parade. More and more schools are closing or converting to online teaching only. Italy has closed all stores except for pharmacies and food stores.
And finally, Trump appears to be taking the coronavirus somewhat seriously-- but he still fucked that up. He said that all travel from Europe would be banned for 30 days, with the exception of U.K.-- but that wasn't quite correct, which required members of the administration to make clarifications after the fact. In reality, only foreign nationals will be prohibited-- legal permanent residents and immediate family members of U.S. citizens will still be allowed to travel from Europe.
Trump also mistakenly said the ban would cover trade-- but later tweeted that it only affected humans. Unbelievably, Trump announced no measures to actually slow the spread of the virus within the U.S. And of course, he appeared to blame the EU for the spread of the virus, calling it "foreign." Most importantly, Trump still refused to declare a federal state of emergency. There were no updates on the status of testing or any measures to increase the U.S capacity of testing. The total number of Americans tested for the virus over the last four weeks is just over 11,000-- while South Korea is testing over 11,000 every day. Trump also repeated his call for immediate payroll tax relief, even though that option has been rejected by both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders.
The financial markets reacted negatively to Trump's remarks, as Wall Street futures immediately went into the dumpster-- Dow futures lost over 1,000 points before trading was halted.
Dr. Margaret Harris from the World Health Organization was among those criticizing the travel ban, warning that it focuses resources on borders rather than stopping the virus spreading through communities.
Trump's remarks also drew immediate criticism from senior Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer who urged Trump to back their move to offer free testing kits, and to focus on fighting the spread of the virus within the US.
'We have a public health crisis in this country and the best way to help keep the American people stay safe and ensure their economic security is for the president to focus on fighting the spread of the coronavirus itself,' they said in a joint statement.
The Association of Flight Attendants was also quick to criticize Trump, branding his travel ban 'irresponsible' and saying it is 'about politics, not public safety'. "There is no explanation for how this will help fight the spread of the virus," a statement said. "It makes little sense when the virus is already in the United States. The President expressly stated the United Kingdom is not included in the travel ban and yet the UK health minister herself has the virus." Not surprising, two of the European countries exempt from the travel ban have Trump properties - two golf courses in Scotland (which is part of the UK) and one in Ireland.
The president did not announce any ban on public gatherings, or declare any travel restrictions within the U.S.
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