US President Trump has announced that passengers from European Schengen countries other than the United Kingdom will be banned from entering the United States from March 13.

The ban will last 30 days. The United States Professional Basketball League (NBA) announced a complete suspension of the game indefinitely due to the diagnosis of new crown pneumonia. In addition, the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade was postponed due to the outbreak.

Barring European travelers from entering the United States

In early March, a number of "purchases of toilet paper" in Asia started in several cities in the United States. It seems to indicate that the United States has become nervous about the epidemic due to the diagnosis and death toll of new coronary pneumonia.

In a televised speech, President Trump even announced an expansion of the travel ban. Starting at midnight on the 13th, local time, visitors from European Schengen countries other than the United Kingdom were banned from entering the United States. The ban will last for 30 days. In addition, the US State Department has also raised global travel warnings, calling on citizens to reconsider overseas travel.

Newly diagnosed patients with coronavirus in the United States have killed 1,135 people and caused 38 deaths. In a televised speech, Trump said that the EU failed to take the same precautionary measures as the United States in fighting the epidemic.

Restrictions issued by the United States do not include U.S. citizens or the United Kingdom. The travel ban regulates only 26 countries with a Schengen visa, such as Ireland, which is not a Schengen country and is not restricted.

In addition, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are members of the European Union, but they do not belong to the Schengen area, so they are not covered by the ban. Although other European countries (such as Switzerland and Iceland) are not members of the European Union, they are also prohibited from entering the United States because they are Schengen visa countries.

Trump noted that the ban on entry also applies to trade and goods. However, following a televised speech, he tweeted that "trade will not be affected."

In addition, in Europe, Italy, where the coronavirus epidemic is most severe, authorities announced before Trump ’s speech that they would implement stricter control measures. All stores in the country, except food supermarkets and drug stores, will be closed.

BBC's New York correspondent Nick Bryant said Trump's travel ban was shocking, and European ambassadors, airlines in the United States, and even Trump's White House officials were shocked.

He pointed out that Trump had originally hoped to ease the tension of the public through the injunction, but it would have the opposite effect, resulting in social chaos like the one when he prohibited the entry of citizens of Muslim countries in the first year of his term.

Delays and cancellations

The pneumonia epidemic has also spread to the American sports industry. The NBA official announced on March 12 that all players will be suspended indefinitely because the players are diagnosed with new crown pneumonia.

The player diagnosed with the coronavirus was the Jazz team's Rudy Gobert. He once jokingly deliberately touched all the microphones on the table at a post-match press conference a few days ago. This behavior has also caused netizens due to the diagnosis talk.

According to US media reports, preliminary estimates of ticket loss are as high as US $ 500 million, and revenue from commodity sales will also be affected.

Almost all of the reasons for the shutdown of the NBA season in the past were labor disputes, the most recent of which was 161 days in 2011 due to labor disputes. Comprehensive reports said that at that time, the broadcaster could not earn advertising fees due to the suspension and lost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lin Shuhao, a star trained in the United States, said in a Twitter post after learning the news that he was really scared and wrote: "Remind yourself that everything is under God's control."

Various measures have also been issued in the United States in response to the epidemic, including the capital city of Washington and other cities, which have successively declared a state of emergency. Several cities have banned large-scale assemblies and closed schools for online classes.

The epidemic also affects local activities. The St.Patrick's Day Parade in New York has been postponed due to the epidemic. The parade attracts 100,000 people each year, and about 2 million people will attend the scene.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said: "I know this is a difficult decision, so I promise that the march will be postponed, not cancelled."

The film industry also reported that some people were infected with new crown pneumonia. Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who filmed a new film in Australia, said on March 12 that he and his wife were diagnosed with the new crown virus and are now preparing for testing and isolation.

Tom Hanks, 63, wrote on social media: "My wife and I are tired, sore, and have symptoms similar to a cold." He said his wife was cold and had a slight fever. According to local media reports, Tom Hanks filmed a biographical movie of Elvis in Australia, and the filming was suspended.

Tourism shock

With the outbreak in various countries, many industries have been severely impacted. Song Enrong, a visiting professor in the Department of Economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that with Trump ’s enactment of European and American travel bans, these industries must have a greater short-term impact.

He told the BBC Chinese that tourism-related industries are already miserable, and even if there is no ban, everyone will reduce travel. "This European and American ban is only 30 days, and if it is extended, the impact will be even greater."

Song Enrong emphasized that the ban has a great impact on multinational companies, but can still perform business through online meetings or through the Internet in the short term, but there will still be mobile demand in the future and it is impossible to work remotely all the time.

He gave an example: "Such as inspecting the factory and knowing whether the equipment meets the requirements, etc., people need to be on site to understand."

US media quoted consulting firm Tourism Economics as saying that the U.S. tourism industry suffered heavy losses because a slump in the number of tourists would reduce revenue by $ 24 billion, which was seven times the loss in the 2003 SARS outbreak.

To alleviate the impact on the economy, Trump said that he will provide low-interest loans to small businesses, and allow some taxpayers and businesses to delay tax payments, and those in isolation can also receive financial assistance.