3 Pinocchios: Trump's claim that he imposed the first 'China ban'
The New York Times calculated that at least 430,000 people arrived in the United States on direct flights from China since Jan. 1, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after Trump imposed restrictions. Moreover, screening proceedings of travelers from China have been uneven and inconsistent, the Times said.
In any case, the United States certainly was not the first country — by a long shot. We reviewed a list of country actions maintained by the Council on Foreign Relations and cross-checked with official announcements. Six countries imposed travel restrictions even before the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency on Jan. 30. Another six announced travel restrictions that same day, followed by 11 countries (besides the United States) announcing restrictions Jan. 31.
But most countries imposed the restrictions immediately. By the time Trump’s restrictions took effect Feb. 2, an additional 15 countries had taken similar actions — and in some cases enacted even tougher bans. But in any case, that adds up to 38 countries taking action before or at the same time the U.S. restrictions were put in place:
Jan. 24
Marshall Islands (no cases reported)
Jan. 25
North Korea (no cases reported)
Jan. 27
Hong Kong (0.5 deaths per million)
Philippines (1 death per million)
Jan. 29
Singapore (1 death per million)
Papua New Guinea (0.2 deaths per million)
Jan. 30
Bahamas (13 deaths per million)
Maldives (no deaths reported)
Trinidad and Tobago (6 deaths per million)
Afghanistan (0.2 deaths per million)
Tajikistan (no cases reported)
Rwanda (no deaths reported)
Jan. 31 — date of U.S. announcement (which was effective Feb. 2)
El Salvador (0.6 deaths per million)
Guyana (5 deaths per million)
Iran (45 deaths per million)
Italy (G-20 country) (273 deaths per million)
Jamaica (1 death per million)
Antigua and Barbuda (no deaths reported)
Turkmenistan (no cases reported)
Morocco (2 deaths per million)
Solomon Islands (no cases reported)
Micronesia (no cases reported)
Kiribati (no cases reported)
Feb. 1
Australia (G-20 country) (2 deaths per million)
Egypt (0.8 deaths per million)
Kyrgyzstan (0.6 deaths per million)
Palau (no cases reported)
Uzbekistan (0.06 deaths per million)
St. Kitts and Nevis (no deaths reported)
Vietnam (no deaths reported)
Feb. 2
Fiji (no deaths reported)
New Zealand (0.2 deaths per million)
Grenada (no deaths reported)
India (G-20 country) (0.1 deaths per million)
Indonesia (G-20 country) (0.8 deaths per million)
Iraq (2 deaths per million)
Israel (7 deaths per million)
Mauritius (6 deaths per million)
United States (32 deaths per million
With more than 10,000 covid-19 deaths recorded in the United States, the third highest in the world, it’s unclear whether Trump’s travel restrictions were especially effective in the long run. The WHO says such bans, at the start of an outbreak, can briefly help buy some time — but that was lost when the United States failed to quickly set up an effective testing program. Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens, permanent residents and exempted foreigners — some carrying the virus — continued to travel from China.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/07/trumps-claim-that-he-imposed-first-china-ban/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most
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