The US is banning travel to Iran in response to the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus and elevating travel warnings to regions of Italy and South Korea.
Vice president Mike Pence announced the new restrictions and warnings on Saturday as President Donald Trump said 22 people in the US have been infected with the coronavirus, including one who has died and four who are deemed "very ill", and that additional cases are "likely".
Trump added that he was considering additional restrictions, including closing the US border with Mexico in response to the virus's spread. But he added: "This is not a border that seems to be much of a problem right now."
"We're thinking about all borders," he continued.
US President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus threat while addressing the media in the press briefing room at the White House. Source: AP
Travel to Iran is already quite limited, though some families are allowed to travel there on a visa. It is one of the seven initial countries on Trump's travel ban list, which means travel from Iran also is already severely restricted.
Secretary of health and human services Alex Azar said: "We want to lower the amount of travel to and from the most impacted areas. This is a basic containment strategy."
Trump provided an update on the virus from the White House press briefing room for the second time this week after the first reported US death of someone he described as having a high medical risk before contracting the virus.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said there was "no evidence of link to travel" in the case of the woman who died.
Trump said healthy Americans should be able to recover if they contract the new virus, as he tried to reassure Americans and global markets spooked by the virus threat.
On Friday, health officials confirmed a second case of Covid-19 in the US in a person who did not travel internationally or have close contact with anyone who had the virus. The US has a total of about 60 confirmed cases.
Passengers wear face masks to protect against the spread of the COVID-19, coronavirus, as they arrive at LAX airport in Los Angeles. Source: AFP
But Trump encouraged Americans not to alter their daily routines, saying "there's no reason to panic at all".
"You're talking about 22 people right now in this whole very vast country. I think we'll be in very good shape."
Trump spoke a day after he denounced criticism of his response to the threat as a "hoax" cooked up by his political enemies.
Speaking at a rally in South Carolina he accused Democrats of "politicising" the coronavirus threat and boasted about preventive steps he has ordered in an attempt to keep the virus that originated in China from spreading across the United States.
Those steps include barring entry by most foreign nationals who had recently visited China.
