WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration on Thursday urged Americans to avoid all international travel and warned U.S. citizens currently overseas to come home or prepare to remain where they are indefinitely.
Issuing its toughest restriction on travel in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, the State Department said Americans who live overseas should also avoid travel.
"The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19," the agency said, issuing its highest level of warning, known as Level 4.
"In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the United States should arrange for immediate return to the United States, unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period. U.S. citizens who live abroad should avoid all international travel."
President Donald Trump, who has already partially closed the U.S. borders with Canada, is prepared to do so with Mexico and restricted entry of non-U.S. citizens flying from Europe, said in a briefing he was consulting with the State Department on how to execute the new policy.
A "Level 4" travel advisory usually urges Americans not to travel to specific countries or regions with wars, epidemics or other dangerous conditions. It's not clear if such a global advisory has been ordered in the past.
The move is the latest effort by the White House to ramp up U.S. defenses against a fast-spreading virus that has infected more than 10,600 people in the United States, and killed at least 150.
