U.S Considers Closing Southern Border Due To Coronavirus Outbreak In Mexico
According to the announcement of President Donald Trump on Saturday he stated that there are possible conditions in shutting down the Mexican border and that is now being considered by the United States in order to control the spreading of the novel coronavirus.
There are also new limits on the travelers who have visited the country of Iran and are now recommending against travel areas that are hit by coronavirus such as Italy and South Korea.
The Mexican government released an announcement on Friday that they had detected three cases of the novel coronavirus from three men who had all recently gone to Italy, this makes the country the second in Latin America to have a rapid spreading of the virus.
A white house press also asked President Trump if he was considering closing the US-Mexico border and the president said that his administration is now thinking about closing the southern border. Later in the press briefing, President Trump also added that he might consider all of the borders closed but they are still considering the borders and it is not a border problem. He also said they hope that they won't have to close the borders.
The Mexican prime minister also released a statement that there are still no notifications from the US administration that the borders are going to be closed. He said that they have not gotten any proposals regarding the possible restrictions in legally entering the US from Mexico. He also added that the United States and Mexican government are keeping close and effective communication, especially health care authorities.
United States Vice President Mike Pence, who was in-charge of the US response to the coronavirus outbreak that was appointed by President Trump said that their administration will ban non-US citizens who had visited Iran within their last 14 days of travel and are traveling from other countries. An Iranian official also released a report that there are already 43 deaths in Iran due to the novel coronavirus.
The United States administration also banned the entry of citizens of Iran and is also imposed on several major Muslim countries to protect and avoid terrorism attacks.
The State Department of the United States raised the "Level 4: Do Not Travel" for the regions that were hit by the virus in South Korea and in Italy. President Trump's administration also added that they are considering adding South Korea to the restrictions that had been already imposed on the travellers from China for more than a week.
Vice President Mike Pence also added that the administration will work with the countries South Korea and Italy to coordinate a medical screening for every individual in their countries that are coming to the United States. The Washington state officials also released a report that the first death of coronavirus in the United States happened on Saturday.
Chip Roy of Texas led a group of 11 Republicans to send a letter on Friday to top the US administration about details containing to plan out the coronavirus at the border with the Mexican government.
The lawmakers said that given the open nature of the borders and the continued lacking operational support due to the influence of the dangerous gangs, it is very much possible and it has a major chance that any outbreak in Central America or Mexico could rush to the border. Also three republicans led by Senator Martha McSally of Arizona also sent a similar message on Friday to the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The possible restrictions on Italy coming in the country could complicate the agreement between United States and Europe's Schengen Agreement that allows travellers and goods to cross without checking according to the DHS officials.
The US airlines also stopped this week's operation in their flight schedules to South Korea.
The discussions over closing the borders are still in the preliminary phase but the DHS now considers the increased medical screening of people coming from certain countries based on the medical capacity and number of travellers coming in the United States.
The officials also added that the issues within closing the borders are something that they are exploring and now are worried because Mexico are having their first cases of the virus.
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