Trump says travel restrictions to Washington, California possible due to coronavirus
President Donald Trump on Thursday said domestic travel restrictions affecting areas where the coronavirus has hit hardest could become a possibility.
According to a report in The New York Times, Trump said he could restrict domestic travel to hard-hit states such as Washington or California.
Trump reportedly said the issue had not yet been discussed but added, “Is it a possibility? Yes, if somebody gets a little bit out of control, if an area gets too hot,” according to the Times report.
The Times said that the president did not elaborate, except to say that a containment zone the state of New York had imposed around the city of New Rochelle was “good.”
On Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced a temporary ban on gatherings of 250 or more for King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. King County also has imposed restrictions on gatherings for under that amount unless public health measures are taken to address the spread of coronavirus.
When asked about Trump’s comments Thursday during his own news conference, Inslee said: “On occasion this president says some things that don’t come to pass, and I hope that is one of them. We’ve had no discussions.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 1:04 PM.
