US President Donald Trump has announced a shock 30-day ban on travel to the US from mainland Europe due to COVID-19 that has sparked unprecedented lockdowns, widespread panic and another financial market meltdown yesterday.
Trump’s unexpected move in a primetime TV address from the Oval Office pummeled stock markets, as traders fretted about the economic effects of the pandemic, which is on a seemingly relentless march across the planet.
“This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history,” Trump said.
Photo: AFP
Trump’s ban affects travelers from Europe — but not Britain — as the continent grapples with a burgeoning crisis.
Hardest-hit Italy on Wednesday clocked more than 2,300 new cases in 24 hours and infections in Spain jumped by one-fourth to more than 2,100.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel quoted experts as saying that “60 to 70 percent of the population will be infected if the situation” continues, with no vaccine in sight.
Italy is in the grip of a lockdown never before seen in peacetime, shutting all stores except pharmacies and food shops in a move that has emptied world-famous tourist sites in Rome, Venice and Florence.
People in Italy have been told to keep at least 1m from each other and shun handshakes. Many are now talking to each other a few steps apart.
Trump announced steps aimed at inoculating the world’s top economy from the pandemic, including deferring tax payments for some individuals and businesses — a move he said amounted to US$200 billion in liquidity.
However, markets still took fright. Australian stocks suffered their worst one-day drop since the 2008 financial crisis, dropping 7.4 percent, despite the earlier announcement of a multibillion-dollar stimulus package in the country.
“Travel restrictions equal slower global economic activity, so if you need any more coaxing to sell, sell, sell, sell after a massively negative signal from overnight trading in US markets, it just fell in your lap,” AxiCorp chief market strategist Stephen Innes said.
White House officials were also forced into a clarification after Trump announced the “tremendous amount of trade and cargo” from Europe would be banned.
Washington later said that the measures, in effect from “midnight Friday,” would apply only to humans, not goods or cargo.
The US Department of State later advised Americans to reconsider travel abroad, as Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker put the number of known US cases at about 1,300, with 36 dead.
On Wednesday, US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien accused China of a slow response to the initial emergence of the coronavirus, saying that this had probably cost the world two months when it could have been preparing for the outbreak.
Asked about O’Brien’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) yesterday told a news conference in Beijing that “immoral and irresponsible” remarks would not help US epidemic efforts.
China’s efforts had bought the world time to prepare against the epidemic, he said.
“We wish that a few officials in the US would at this time concentrate their energy on responding to the virus and promoting cooperation, and not on shifting the blame to China,” Geng said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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