The United States is to extend its European coronavirus travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
The expanded measure is to take effect on 16th March 2020, as announced by Vice-President Mike Pence.
Initially, President Trump had exempted the U.K. and Ireland from the ban on travelers originating from 26 European countries, which took effect at 12:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
The Vice-President Pence also declared that free coronavirus testing would be provided for every American.
President Trump, speaking at the same news conference has said that he had been tested himself and the White House later confirmed that the test was negative.
As of now,the US has confirmed 51 deaths linked to the pandemic and 2,488 infections.
In Britain, more than 800 people have thus far tested positive for the coronavirus, with over 20 severe cases having proved fatal.
