WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2020) US President Donald Trump says domestic flights to hotspots of the coronavirus infection could be restricted, the issue is currently being discussed with state governors.
"We're looking at it very seriously right now, we're dealing with governors, we're dealing with airlines, we're dealing with a lot of different factors, that's a very difficult decision," Trump said at the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Saturday, when asked about the possibility of restricting flights to COVID-19 hotspots in the US.
Trump pointed out that some states currently require that people coming from certain areas are quarantined for two weeks.
"We are also doing testing, getting into planes, very strong testing, states are doing testing of people that lead planes because they don't want to have people coming in who are infected," Trump told reporters.
"We are working with the governors," Trump concluded.
According to the Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center, there are over 300,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, which is the largest number of COVID-19 cases of all countries. The United States has the third largest death toll from COVID-19 in the world (over 8,300 fatalities), it is surpassed only by Spain (over 11,900 deaths) and Italy (over 15,300 deaths). The city of New York alone has registered over 1,900 deaths from COVID-19.
As Americans refrain from travel amid the coronavirus spread, multiple US carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, have applied for the $25 billion in grants available to airlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. CARES also includes funding and financing for aviation businesses as well as grants for airports, public transit and Amtrak.
