Donald Trump deals a heavy blow to the man who 'followed his example'
(Baonghean) - Reuters news agency reported on May 25 that two days after Brazil became the world's second-highest hotspot for Covid-19 infections, the White House announced it would restrict travel from this country to the United States.
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| Brazil has recorded more than 360,000 positive Covid-19 cases, second only to the US. Photo: AFP |
The travel ban is a blow to Brazil’s right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who has taken a page from US President Donald Trump’s book on the pandemic, resisting calls for social distancing and praising unproven drugs. His office did not respond to a request for comment.
“The United States maintains a strong partnership with Brazil, and we are working closely to mitigate the health, economic, and social impacts of Covid-19 in Brazil,” the US Embassy in Brasilia said in a statement.
The restrictions, which will take effect on May 28, prohibit non-U.S. citizens from traveling to the United States if they have been in Brazil in the previous two weeks, the diplomatic agency said. Exceptions will be made for certain groups, including green card holders, relatives of U.S. citizens, and flight crew members.
For its part, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry called it a technical decision in the context of “important bilateral cooperation” to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting $6.5 million in donations and a promise of 1,000 ventilators from the White House.
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| President Donald Trump and President Jair Bolsonaro at a press conference on March 19, 2019. Photo: Reuters |
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure that foreign nationals do not bring new cases to the US, but would not apply to trade between the two countries. US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told CBS on May 24 that he hoped to revisit the move at some point: "We hope it's temporary, but given the situation in Brazil, we're going to have to take whatever steps are necessary to protect the American people."
An adviser to the Brazilian president also downplayed the impact of Mr. Trump’s move, emphasizing the common view of the two countries’ leaders to fight the virus with unproven anti-malarial drugs for treating Covid-19. Filipe Martins, Mr. Bolsonaro’s international affairs adviser, affirmed: “There is no specific content against Brazil.” Two hours earlier, he also wrote that Trump had “opened a direct phone line to exchange information on how to use hydroxychloroquine and other treatments for Covid-19.”
