Confusion after Trump’s statement on travel and insurance amid coronavirus (UPDATE)
During the White House address on March 11, United States President Donald Trump made several announcements regarding a European travel ban and insurance co-payments for coronavirus treatment.
Travel ban
Trump noted that all travel from mainland Europe to the US would be banned beginning March 13 midnight for thirty days, in an effort to prevent further transmission of the coronavirus. The announcement left thousands of travelers in Europe scrambling to fly back into the US before the ban took effect.
According to a New York Times reporter, Mike McIntire, some Americans paid as much as $20,000 for last-minute plane tickets. “Bedlam at U.S.-bound airlines at CDG [Charles de Gaulle Airport] in Paris early this a.m., as Americans pay as much as $20,000 for last-minute flights,” McIntire tweeted on March 12.
The travel ban, however, does not apply to Americans.
Insurance co-payment waivers
Regarding insurance for those affected by the coronavirus, Trump initially said that co-payments will be waived for coronavirus tests as well as treatments.
Insurance companies later corrected the claim, saying that only co-payments for testing of the coronavirus would be waived, not the treatment.