The White House announced that beginning at 11:59 pm ET on Thursday, President Trump would suspend entry of non-U.S. citizens who have been in Brazil in the past 14 days in an effort to stop the imported spread of the coronavirus.
Why it matters: Brazil has reported nearly 350,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus — the second-most in the world behind the U.S. — and has emerged as a Southern Hemisphere hotspot as other heavily affected countries in Asia and Europe have managed to get their outbreaks under control.
- However, there continues to be significant community spread of the virus within the U.S., which will not be curbed by further outside travel restrictions.
The big picture: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has come under fire for dismissing the virus as a “little flu” and aggressively pushing to reopen the economy, which is heading for its worst recession ever.
- On Sunday, a mask-less Bolsonaro attended a rally in Brasilia, shaking hands, embracing supporters and ignoring social distancing measures as coronavirus cases continued to surge. Continue reading.