Trump Bans Travel From Europe-but Covid-19 Is Already Here

Making things worse, experts say that expanded screening protocols at US airports might divert CDC personnel from assisting state and local health officials. "CDC personnel are a finite resource, and we are splitting our efforts," says Julie Fischer, a professor of microbiology at Georgetown University who studies community preparedness for emerging diseases. "At the time that we need as many experts as we can from the CDC providing scientific expertise, many are dedicated to the quarantine."

In addition to airport screenings, CDC officials are also deployed to handle quarantines of the 2,400 cruise ship passengers from the Grand Princess that have been sent to military bases in California and Texas. Fischer feels that these health experts could be better put to use trying to halt the domestic spread of the virus.

CDC officials did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Meanwhile, Nuzzo says the number of people infected in the United States is much higher than reported by the CDC and local health officials. "It's highly likely that there are a lot of cases out there that we haven't found," Nuzzo said. "We have insufficient testing capabilities right now. We don't have the surveillance systems we need. We could be doing specialized studies to estimate how many people are likely infected. We haven't done that yet."

In Brussels a pair of European Union officials blasted Trump's decision as shortsighted and said they had received no warning about the announcement. "The Coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action," read the statement posted on the website of the EU Commission, cosigned by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president Charles Michel. "The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation."

While American citizens may not be banned from returning home from Europe, they will have a tough time heading to South America. Officials in Argentina, Peru, and Colombia have announced mandatory two-week quarantines for anyone arriving from the US and seven other virus-hit countries.

And even domestically, it's going to be hard for Americans to go much of anywhere. What started as a trickle of a few businesses and schools closing has now become a torrent of event cancellations. The NBA finally canceled the remainder of its season Wednesday after a player tested positive for coronavirus, while professional hockey and soccer leagues are following suit on Thursday. Officials in Seattle, San Francisco, and the entire state of Oregon have banned large gatherings. City leaders in Austin canceled March events for South by Southwest, while organizers for California's Coachella music festival postponed their event to October at the urging of local health and county authorities. Houston officials cancelled the city's rodeo, while those from New York City, Boston, Chicago and many others have called off St. Patrick's Day parades.

Public health experts say they hope the American public is finally getting the message that the coronavirus is a serious threat, and that they should stay home and avoid contact with crowds, whether it's at a local basketball game, a spring break trip to Paris, or a political rally. Until that happens, it's likely the number of Americans testing positive for the virus will keep rising.

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