U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration is considering banning the entry of foreign nationals from Japan as the Asian country continues to see a rise in coronavirus cases.
“We’re looking at it,” Trump said at a press conference, while showing understanding of Japan’s recent decision to expand its entry ban to include foreign travelers from the United States.
“I think it’s fine that they do that. They’re trying to protect their country and we have to protect our country,” the president said.
The Trump administration has so far barred the entry of foreign travelers coming from mainland China, the first country to be hit by the virus, as well as from Iran and many European countries. The State Department has advised Americans to avoid all international travel.
Related coverage:
South Korea’s confirmed coronavirus cases top 10,000
Japan to give 200,000 yen in cash to each household in need
Coronavirus infections top 1 million worldwide as pandemic rages
(function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));