Trump has announced that he will be addressing the nation tonight at 9pm from the Oval Office on the coronavirus:
I will be addressing the Nation this evening at 9:00 P.M. (Eastern) from the Oval Office.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2020
Trump to speak to the nation about coronavirus at 9 pm et
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 11, 2020
There is reporting out there that suggest Trump may be considering a restriction on non-essential travel from Europe:
LATEST: Health advisers will recommend Trump raise US travel alert to Level 3 for entire EU.
This would mean Americans should avoid everything but essential travel to Europe and should self-quarantine for two weeks upon returning to US, sources tell @nwadhams @RyanBBeene and me.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 11, 2020
Here’s more from Bloomberg:
President Donald Trump’s advisers are recommending that the U.S. raise its travel alert to Level 3 for the entire European Union, a move that would mean Americans should avoid everything but essential travel to the 27-nation bloc and should self-quarantine for two weeks upon returning home, according to three people familiar with the matter.
While no final decision has been made, the move is among many measures the administration is considering as it seeks to control the growing spread of the coronavirus, according to the people. Trump would make the final decision on any change in the travel alert.
A Level 3 advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention means those countries are witnessing “widespread, ongoing transmission” of the virus. The people said that the recommendation would likely exclude the U.K.
Raising the alert for the European Union would be a clear sign of the administration’s view of the gravity of the threat from the coronavirus as it continues to spread quickly. Currently, the only countries classified under the CDC’s Level 3 travel health notice are China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.
Trump did tweet a couple of hours ago that he was ready to use the full power of the government to deal with coronavirus:
I am fully prepared to use the full power of the Federal Government to deal with our current challenge of the CoronaVirus!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 11, 2020
Jacobs just tweeted again on this and other possible topics Trump may discuss tonight:
NEW: What Trump is weighing, and may announce at 9p:
-whether to restrict non-essential travel from Europe to US via Section 212(f) of Immigration and Nationality Act
-invoking Stafford Act to enable businesses to access disaster relief funds
-exact shape of payroll tax holiday.— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 11, 2020