WASHINGTON _ The State Department is preparing to raise its travel alert to Level 4 for the entire world, an unprecedented move aimed at stopping Americans from going overseas as the Trump administration tries to get control of the coronavirus, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Level 4 is the highest advisory in the State Department's travel alert system and essentially tells Americans not to travel overseas at all. It's normally reserved for countries in a state of war such as Yemen and Somalia.
After weeks of playing down the coronavirus threat, President Donald Trump has recently instituted more severe measures in the effort to contain the spread of the virus. Outbreaks have hit most of Europe, and the disease is running rampant in Spain, Italy and Iran.
Asked about the travel warning at a White House news conference on Thursday, Trump said he will be talking to the State Department about the move "later" and can't say more "because I haven't had the meeting yet."
The State Department declined to comment when asked about the possibility of the higher travel alert, which was reported earlier by Politico. The move will come days after Trump banned almost all citizens of European countries from entering the U.S. and the State Department raised the travel alert to Level 3.
