EU leaders blast Trump for 'unilateral' travel ban over coronavirus

The European Union leaders have lashed out at US President Donald Trump's "unilateral" decision to impose travel ban from Europe to the United States over the coronavirus, saying the illness does not respect borders.

EU Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a joint scathing statement, on Thursday rebuked the Trump administration for imposing a ban on arrivals from countries in the Schengen passport-free zone without consulting them.

"The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action," they said in the written statement, adding, "The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation."

The European officials also rejected Trump's suggestion that Europe is not doing enough to combat COVID-19, saying the 27-nation bloc "is taking strong action to limit the spread of the virus."

The so-called Schengen area comprises 26 countries including EU members France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Austria and Belgium, where the bloc has its headquarters, but also others like Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

In a prime time address from the Oval Office to a worried nation, Trump on Wednesday suspended travel from Europe to the US for 30 days in an "aggressive" effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Trump bans travel from Europe to US over coronavirus

President Donald Trump suspends travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days in an "aggressive" effort to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic that is rapidly multiplying.

The US president said the ban on travelers from the zone would come into effect at midnight Friday.

Trump briefly caused alarm as he announced that "tremendous amount of trade and cargo" would also be banned.

The White House afterwards clarified that "the people transporting goods will not be admitted into the country, but the goods will be."

On both sides of the Atlantic on Thursday, the consequences of Trump’s decision to ban most travel from Europe began to be felt economically, politically and socially.

Every country in the EU has now recorded at least one coronavirus COVID-19 case and the continent as a whole has had 22,969 cases, most notably Italy with 12,462 cases and 827 fatalities.

Trump and other White House officials have publicly attempted to downplay the risk the coronavirus poses to the US. 

There are at least 1,267 cases of the coronavirus in the United States, according to state and local health agencies and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The US death toll is now at 38, after another patient died in Washington state.

US Vice President Mike Pence has recently warned that the United States will have thousands more cases and that Americans returning from Europe would need to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Earlier on Wednesday, the WHO described the deadly virus outbreak as a pandemic and blamed its spread on “alarming levels of inaction.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on governments to immediately “scale up” their efforts to confront the new coronavirus in an attempt to stop the now-global pandemic.

UN chief says declaration of coronavirus pandemic is call to action

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on governments to immediately scale up their efforts to confront the new coronavirus in an attempt to stop the now-global pandemic.

The coronavirus, which emerged in China last December, has spread around the world, halting industries, bringing travel to a standstill, closing schools, and forcing the cancellation of public events.

More than 129,854 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 4,751 have died, the vast majority of them in China.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk