UK and Ireland to be added to banned country list

I suspect this could be a reaction to political pressure as much as caution.

Anyone surprised?

I suspect this could be a reaction to political pressure as much as caution.

Who knows what goes on behind closed doors. I put my boots on before listening to anything coming out of Washington.

I am on a fight to the UK on 4/15. I return in July. As long as I can go I figure this should all be over by the time I come back.

Had family that purposely went to London from other parts of Europe for the express purpose of getting a flight out. It was only a matter of time.

This seemed to be a major loophole that did not make a lot of sense. Not surprised that the restrictions are being added now. I would expect other non-Shengen European nations might also be added to the list in the next few weeks.

Isn't it true that US citizens are still allowed to re-enter the country?

I couldn't understand why they were initially excluded from Trump's European travel ban. Is anyone else considering postponing a trip to Ireland?

I couldn't understand why they were initially excluded from Trump's European travel ban.

The UK has a much closer relationship with the US than any other European country. I suspect a reluctance to harm trade relations (and post Brexit trade discussions) and other related matters was the reason for the omission from the ban.

The ban does not apply to U.S. citizens. I don’t understand the purpose of going to London to fly to U.S.
U.S. citizens can return from other parts of Europe. If you’re a nonresident of the U.S., you would have to stay in U.K. for 14 days prior to travel as they would check your travel history.

It only limits non Americans from flying to the U.S. American citizens can still return from Europe. I wonder what the enhanced screening of returning Americans really is. I read one article quoting some returning citizens saying that they did not undergo much scrutiny.

As much as I hate to see it, most positive Covid 19 cases in my area of the U.S. so far are in people returning from a vacation overseas.

I'm not so certain, but perhaps the "special relationship" between Britain and the U.S. was part of the reason. There is no closer alliance in the world, except for maybe Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

I couldn't understand why they were initially excluded from Trump's European travel ban. Is anyone else considering postponing a trip to Ireland?

All political, anytime Trump can take a swipe at the EU he will. In case you did not notice he also banned trade... which means a major part of the 18% of meds imported into the US from Germany and Ireland will not be arriving. Another crisis in the making.

Emma, spot on. And you make me laugh. We all need that.

The ban does not apply to U.S. citizens. I don’t understand the
purpose of going to London to fly to U.S. U.S. citizens can return
from other parts of Europe.

There was a lot of confusion about this initially with the Schengen restrictions, as the announcement was made to declare all travel was banned (that had to later be corrected). People panicked and tried booking flights through the UK thinking they might not get home otherwise. Additionally, more and more flights are being canceled since few people will be on them.

The restrictions are only on non-American passengers. Goods/Cargo can continue to enter the U.S.

Many flights will still continue because they also carry cargo.

There was a lot of confusion about this initially

I still see lots of people discussing and perceiving this incorrectly.

We'll yes there's misperception since the actual ban is quite different than what the president announced.

Even CNN and CNBC are referring to it as the European Travel Ban.

Emma: nice.

It does seem Trump has wise counsel in the form of seasoned, sober physicians advising him. You can see them standing behind him when he speaks on the subject. During interviews they come across as no-nonsense types. Of course the Orange Bandit tends to go off on strange tangents.

I wonder if I can get really cheap tickets travelling with the cargo, or pets? I like animals.

Our flight to LHR is May 24th ... Delta now says they do exchanges for flights before May 31st ... we might cancel and try later in the year.

I also found it strange that all anyone want to talk about (including Trump) was that the UK was exempt. The truth was the ban only extended to Schengen Area countries which excluded the UK defacto. It also excluded a dozen other European countries which never get mentioned. I think the intent was to isolate Italy, but you cant do that if Schengen isnt regulating borders, so the whole area had to go down. Of course, conspiracy theories about golf courses are much more our style here. Maybe with the new tightening of the borders in the Schengen area the ban will get modified.

Of course, conspiracy theories about golf courses are much more our style here.

Evidently you've confused sarcastic humour with conspiracy theories!