Trump places travel restrictions on Brazil citing 'widespread transmission' of COVID-19

In the wake of the worsening situation of coronavirus outbreak in Brazil, White House announced on May 25 that it is barring travel on non-US citizens to and from the Latin America giant. According to the White House statement, US President Donald Trump administration “has determined that the Federative Republic of Brazil is experiencing widespread, ongoing person-person transmission” of COVID-19. Till now Brazil, as per Johns Hopkins University tally, Brazil has recorded 347,398  cases of coronavirus infections with at least 22,013 deaths. 

The US government restrictions would be applicable to people who had been to Brazil for up to two weeks. However, the White House reportedly assured that the rule introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 would not affect the commerce between both the nations. This comes as the US is already the most-affected country in the world due to COVID-19 pandemic and has recorded 97,672 deaths and over 1.6 million cases. 

US President Donald Trump said, “The potential for undetected transmission of the virus by infected individuals seeking to enter the United States from the Federative Republic of Brazil threatens the security of our transportation system and infrastructure and the national security."

He added, “I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of all aliens who were physically present within the Federative Republic of Brazil during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.”

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'South America new epicentre of COVID-19'

The US ban on travel from Brazil comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) emergencies director Mike Ryan said that South America has become an “epicentre” of the COVID-19 pandemic as Brazil surpassed Russia's coronavirus infection and became the second-most affected country in the world. While the global infections have surpassed 5.3 million, there have been significant spikes in the COVID-19 cases in Central as well as South America. 

This week, as more and more countries claim to have contained the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus, Brazil became the latest flashpoint of the health crisis.

According to reports, most infections in Brazil are concentrated in Sao Paulo. However, the highest rate of infection remains in the state of Amazonas where Mike Ryan revealed that 490 people in every 100,000 were COVID-19 positive. He even noted that the situation is alarming in most of the countries in the region but Brazil remains “most affected”.

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Image Source: AP