The US will ban foreigners who have been to China within 14 days, and will quarantine some returning Americans

David Slotnick

January 31, 2020 9:35 PM

VIVEK PRAKASH/AFP via Getty Images)

Due to a coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China , the US will temporarily bar foreign nationals who have been in China within the previous 14 days, the Trump administration announced Friday.
US citizens and permanent residents who've recently traveled to China's Hubei province will be screened on arrival and may be subject to quarantine.
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The Trump administration said on Friday that it would temporarily bar foreigners from entering the US if they had been to China within the past 14 days.

The action will effectively prevent any foreign national who has been to China within the last two weeks from entering the country, with exceptions made for immediately family of American citizens and permanent residents.

US citizens returning home who have been to the Hubei province of China within the prior 14 days will be quarantined for up to two weeks, the Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said at a briefing.

Those who have recently traveled to other parts of China will be subject to "proactive entry health screening" and up to two weeks of "monitored self-quarantine to ensure they've not contracted the virus and do not pose a public health risk," Azar said.

The rules are scheduled to take effect at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 2.

"The American public can be assured the full weight of the US government is working to safeguard the health and safety of the American people," Azar said.

The US will also funnel flights from China through just seven airports: New York's JFK, Atlanta, Seattle, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.