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Coronavirus: US to extend travel ban to UK and Ireland
BBC6 hours ago
Coronavirus pandemic
The US is to extend its European coronavirus travel ban to include the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The ban will begin at midnight EST on Monday (04:00 GMT Tuesday), Vice-President Mike Pence announced.
President Trump's travel ban on 26 European countries - members of the Schengen free movement zone - came into force on Saturday.
Mr Pence also announced that free coronavirus testing would be provided for every American.
"Now it's all systems go," said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci on efforts to expand testing.
Speaking at the same news conference, President Trump said he had been tested himself. The White House later said that the test was negative.
The US has confirmed 51 deaths linked to the pandemic and 2,488 infections.
In the first six weeks of vetting for the virus at US, 17 travellers were placed under quarantine at medical facilities, a senior official at the US Department of Homeland Security told Reuters news agency. During that period, more than 30,000 travellers were also asked to self-quarantine at home.
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