Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday credited China travel restrictions as a big factor in helping avoid a Europe-like spread of coronavirus in the United States.
At the same White House briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised the impact of travel restrictions, the latest of which cover Europe, and beginning Monday night, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The endorsements beg the question: are restrictions on travel within the United States next?
So far, government officials have only said a domestic travel ban is under consideration, a position they reiterated Sunday.
“We continue to look at all options, and all options remain on the table,” Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security said.
The only hint that changes might be ahead: Officials said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday will release new coronavirus guidelines. They did not say what the guidelines would cover or whether they will including travel.
“Literally, we will do everything that we can to make sure we safeguard the health and well-being of the American people,” Fauci said.
The CDC did say late Sunday that it would recommend against gatherings of 50 more people for eight weeks. A Southwest Airlines 737 has triple that number of passengers.
The CDC already issued an unusual advisory covering U.S. travel. On Wednesday , the agency posted guidelines on its website with the headline: “Should I travel within the United States?”