Trump announces travel ban from most of Europe; NBA suspends season

The State Department issued a global level 3 health advisory late Wednesday, urging U.S. citizens to reconsider travel plans abroad due to the impact of the novel coronavirus.

The advisory is the second-highest warning the department can issue on a scale of one to four, with the highest being a recommendation not to travel internationally at all.

“Many areas throughout the world are now experiencing covid-19 outbreaks and taking action that may limit traveler mobility, including quarantines and border restrictions,” the department said in a statement. “Even countries, jurisdictions, or areas where cases have not been reported may restrict travel without notice.”

President Trump is canceling his planned weekend fundraising activities and political trip to Nevada and Colorado, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Wednesday.

She issued a statement to pool reporters at the White House shortly after the president spoke about the coronavirus outbreak in an Oval Office address. Trump had been scheduled to attend fundraisers in Nevada and Colorado and deliver an address to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“Out of an abundance of caution from the Coronavirus outbreak, the president has decided to cancel his upcoming events in Colorado and Nevada,” she said.

The Defense Department announced Wednesday night that it is implementing a mandatory 60-day ban on all travel for service members, employees and their families to nations that have been the most seriously afflicted by coronavirus, and a ban on some official travel to other locations, as well.

The decision will affect thousands of service members and their families who are assigned in countries where the U.S. military keeps a large presence abroad, including South Korea, Italy and Japan.

“The Department of Defense’s top priority remains the protection and welfare of our people,” Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said in a statement. “While directing this prudent action, I continue to delegate all necessary authority to commanders to make further decisions based on their assessments to protect their people and ensure mission readiness. While we deal with this fluid and evolving situation, I remain confident in our ability to protect our service members, civilians and families.”

The coronavirus infection rate in China continues to drop to almost negligible levels, with only 15 newly confirmed cases reported Thursday, eight of them in the epicenter province of Hubei.

In addition, there were six new cases found in people arriving in China from abroad, the National Health Commission said. Only 11 people had died from the virus on Wednesday, all but one of them in Hubei, continuing the sharp decline seen in recent weeks.

China has been touting the success of its strictly enforced lockdown in containing the spread of the virus, as other countries around the world begin to follow suit or at least think about it. President Xi Jinping this week visited Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus emerged late last year, a sign of China’s confidence that it has brought the outbreak under control domestically.

About an hour after his address announcing a 30-day ban on travel from Europe to the U.S. to slow the spread of the coronavirus, President Trump took to Twitter to correct his statement that the sweeping new restrictions would apply not just to people but to trade.

"Hoping to get the payroll tax cut approved by both Republicans and Democrats, and please remember, very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe,” Trump tweeted at 10:13 p.m. “The restriction stops people not goods.”

President Trump addressed the nation Wednesday from the Oval Office, with the coronavirus spreading in the United States, markets plunging and amid criticism over how his administration is handling it.

On the same day the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Trump announced that he’s sharply restricting travel from Europe, that health insurance companies have agreed to waive co-payments for coronavirus treatment and that he would take emergency action to provide “financial relief” for workers who are affected.

The NBA suspended its season indefinitely Wednesday night after a member of the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus.

The announcement came hours after a conference call between NBA owners to discuss the league’s coronavirus response plans failed to produce a resolution, and shortly after the Jazz’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was abruptly postponed before tip-off.

“A player on the Utah Jazz has preliminary tested positive for covid-19,” the NBA’s statement read. “The test result was reported shortly prior to tip-off of [Wednesday’s] game. At that time, [Wednesday’s] game was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena. The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of [Wednesday’s] schedule until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”

HONG KONG — Asian markets and oil prices slumped after President Trump banned travel from most of Europe in an effort to contain the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index was down 5 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was off 3.8 percent by late morning Thursday. U.S. oil futures and the Brent global benchmark were both down about 7 percent, while U.S. stock futures were down about 4.7 percent.

With draconian measures in place worldwide try to contain the virus, many economists now predict a world recession. The Dow Jones industrial average lost almost 1,500 points Wednesday and now sits in bear-market territory.