Africa Press-Nigeria:
U.S. President Donald Trump late on Monday said that he would “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” by executive order amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,” he tweeted.
The president did not provide further details about the move, which came as his administration sought to start reopening the country after it was shut down in an attempt to slow down the transmission of the novel coronavirus.
Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. had enough testing for every state to begin phase one of a three-phased approach to reopening the country presented by the White House.
“By our best estimates, we have enough testing capacity today for every state in America to go to phase one if they meet the other criteria of 14 days of reduced cases and sufficient hospital capacity to prepare for any eventuality that may occur,” Pence told a daily briefing.
Meanwhile Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. public health official on infectious diseases, tempered expectations of a quick return to economic normality saying the virus had to be contained first.
Speaking on broadcaster ABC, Fauci cautioned that testing for antibodies to the virus had not yet been perfected while also warning that immunity was still being studied.
“If you jump the gun and go into a situation where you have a big spike, you’re going to set yourself back,” he said, adding: “Unless we get the virus under control, the real recovery, economically, is not going to happen.”
Trump said there were additional testing sites that governors knew of and could be using, taking a swipe at two governors who he said “didn’t understand” this.
The president said New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of Trump’s coronavirus response, would visit the White House on Tuesday.
