Trump Administration Now Considering Domestic Travel Restrictions
Americans could face domestic travel restrictions as part of the nation’s effort to battle the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Saturday.
During a news conference of his coronavirus task force, Trump was asked about a domestic travel ban in light of a Pentagon notice to service members and their families discouraging domestic travel.
“Well, if you don’t have to travel, I wouldn’t do it,” Trump said.
“If you don’t have to travel — we want this thing to end. We don’t want a lot of people getting infected. We want it to end, and end as quickly as possible. So far, I think we’ve done a fantastic job. I really think that the people behind me have not been given the credit that they deserve, because they have done a fantastic job,” Trump said.
Trump noted that responding to the virus causes a ripple effect of complications.
“When you see all these school closures, when you see — the school closures are very important but it causes a lot of problems. The bill that we signed yesterday takes care of a lot of those problems with children staying at home and the parents are working. Now we take care of that issue with what we passed last night. Now, it has to go through the Senate. I have to sign it. But that will happen,” he said.
Trump was then asked, “Are you considering other travel restrictions, perhaps domestically” to which he replied, “Yes.”
Trump was then asked to provide details.
“Specifically from certain areas. Yes, we are. And we’re working with the states, and we are considering other restrictions, yes,” he said.
Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the task force, was also asked about possible domestic travel restrictions.
“[L]et me just say, as the president said, we’ll — we’re considering a broad range of measures, but no decisions have been made yet,” Pence said.
“But I just want to assure the American people of two things: We’re going to continue to follow the facts. We’re going to continue to listen to the experts about recommendations. We’ll bring — as we did this week when the president made the decision to suspend all travel from Europe — we’ll bring the — we’ll bring the best recommendations of our health care experts to the president,” Pence said.
“And I promise you, and I promise the American people, this president is going to continue to take every step necessary to protect the American people and put the health of the American people first. And, together, we’ll get through this,” Pence said.
During the briefing, Pence said that travel from Britain and Ireland would be suspended on Monday. Trump last week suspended travel from Europe.
#TravelTip: Travelers, handwashing is one of the best ways to protect yourself & your family from getting sick. https://t.co/lfaA5v1FeV
Remember:
✔️Wet?
✔️Lather?
✔️Scrub (for 20 seconds) ?
✔️Rinse?
✔️Dry?
✔️Or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol ? pic.twitter.com/bHMuDSO969— CDC Travel Health (@CDCtravel) March 13, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control is offering a cautionary message on domestic travel.
Families are struggling to make responsible decisions about their domestic travel plans for spring break. Many companies & institutions are prohibiting non-essential travel. The CDC provides “things to consider before you travel“ https://t.co/kbI7rEoK2S pic.twitter.com/SmvlmCnS12
— Paula V Nersesian (@PaulaNersesian) March 14, 2020
“CDC does not generally issue advisories or restrictions for travel within the United States. However, cases of COVID-19 have been reported in many states, and some areas are experiencing community spread of the disease. Crowded travel settings, like airports, may increase your risk of exposure to COVID-19, if there are other travelers with COVID-19,” the CDC said on its website.
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