President Donald Trump says he is suspending all travel between the US and Europe for 30 days beginning on Friday as he seeks to combat a viral pandemic.
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Trump made the announcement in an Oval Office address to the nation on Wednesday night, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the "foreign virus" and saying US clusters were "seeded" by European travellers.
"We made a lifesaving move with early action on China," Trump said. "Now we must take the same action with Europe."
Trump said the restrictions won't apply to the United Kingdom and the US would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.
Trump said he was also directing agencies to provide unspecified financial relief "for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to coronavirus," and asked Congress to take action to extend it.
Trump said the US will defer tax payments for some individual and business filers for three months to lessen the impacts of the virus outbreak.
He said the Small Business Administration will also make low-interest loans available to businesses to help them weather the storm.
"This is not a financial crisis," he said. "This just a temporary moment of time that we will overcome together as a nation and as a world."
Trump also reiterated his call on Congress to pass a cut to the federal payroll tax in order to stimulate the economy.
Trump said "we are marshaling the full power" of the government and private sector to protect the American people.
Congress, for its part, unveiled a multibillion-dollar aid package that was expected to be voted on by the House as soon as Thursday.
Communities cancelled public events nationwide, universities moved to cancel in-person classes, and families grappled with the impact of disruptions to public schools.
The number of confirmed cases of the infection topped 1000 in the US and the World Health Organisation declared the global crisis is now a pandemic.
As government officials warned that the outbreak in the US will only get worse, the Capitol was set to halt public tours of the building as the shifting developments raised questions, urgency and a new level of unease.
"I can say we will see more cases, and things will get worse than they are right now," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said in testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He said the virus is "10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu."
On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled an economic assistance plan that was gaining bipartisan backing. Central to the package is free coronavirus testing nationwide and emergency funding to reimburse lost paychecks for those self-quarantining, missing work or losing jobs amid the outbreak.
The draft legislation would create a new federal emergency sick leave benefit for people with the virus or caring for a coronavirus victim. It would provide two-thirds of an employee's monthly income for up to three months.
Facing a likely surge in unemployment claims, the package would also give states money for the newly jobless. It would provide additional funding for food and nutrition benefits for pregnant women, mothers and young children. It also would up money for "meals on wheels" and food for low-income elderly people.
Australian Associated Press
