US extends travel ban to UK, Ireland starting from March 17

A 30-day US ban on travel from the EU’s Schengen border-free zone took effect on Saturday, but notably excludes Britain and Ireland.

Vice President Mike Pence announced Saturday that a travel ban imposed on European nations over the coronavirus pandemic would be extended to the United Kingdom and Ireland starting at 0400 GMT Tuesday.

United States Vice President Mike Pence during a White House news conference said that Americans in UK or Ireland and legal residents can come home. (AP)

“Americans in the UK or Ireland can come home. Legal residents can come home,” Pence told a White House news conference, adding that such people would be “funnelled through specific airports and processed.”

A 30-day US ban on travel from the EU’s Schengen border-free zone took effect on Saturday, but notably excludes Britain and Ireland.

Trump had earlier confirmed the ban would be extended to those countries as the pandemic progresses, saying: “They’ve had a little bit of activity, unfortunately.”