- Title: American passengers return to U.S. hours ahead of travel restrictions
- Date: 14th March 2020
- Summary: DULLES, VIRGINIA UNITED STATES (MARCH 13, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS ARRIVING IN TERMINAL, SOME WEARING MASKS PASSENGERS ARRIVING AND HUGGING LOVED ONES WHO ARE MEETING THEM WOMEN WEARING MASKS ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHELLE CRAVED, WASHINGTON D.C. RESIDENT RETURNING FROM AMSTERDAM, SAYING: "It was incredibly stressful. We were out at a bar and then came home to a bunch of texts saying that you need to get home right away and the president had just given a speech and he said everyone needs to get back into the U.S. And so, we were scrambling to find flights right away, only forty five minutes later to find out that clarified that - the department clarified that - and that Americans would have been let back in, so we almost spent three thousand dollars. Luckily, we ended up spending five hundred and when we flew somewhere else to get a flight home." (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAEL CAMPBELL, FROM MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, SAYING: "I mean you know, we get on the flight, everybody, several people are wearing gloves, masks. Everybody is throwing the sideward glance to anybody who is sniffling or coughing but other than that there were no problems." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIA GRIER (English) STUDENT RETURNING FROM A STUDY-ABROAD PROGRAM IN GENEVA, SWITZERLAND SAYING: "I'm coming from Geneva, Switzerland. I was studying abroad there, was supposed to be for about four months. It's been about two, and I think twenty four hours ago, we got the e-mail that said, you're coming home. (REPORTER ASKING: How was the panic?) I think I saw the e-mail at about 6:00 a.m., I woke up, tried not to wake my roommate up, knocked on a bunch of people's doors, and we all went and saw the sunrise and cried together." PASSENGERS ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATHAN CAMPBELL, PASSENGER RETURNING FROM COLOMBIA, SAYING: "From the moment I got on at the airport in Colombia, I was asked if I had a fever or any symptoms and then I think me having a mask on obviously made me perhaps more of a target. You could tell many people were apprehensive and people were much more quiet. This is probably the quietest flight I've ever been on actually. So yeah. (REPORTER ASKING: So how does it feel now, back here?) It feels really good, actually, it feels amazing. It's funny to actually, just coming through customs, they seem to be all more tense than they typically are. They kind of harangued me, but I don't think it's just me. I think it's just the general population." PEOPLE ARRIVING AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL
- Embargoed: 28th March 2020 00:20
- Keywords: Dulles Emergency Europe coronavirus passengers travel ban
- Location: DULLES, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
- City: DULLES, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C4W14CN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Passengers arrived at Dulles airport on Friday (March 13) hours before mandated travel restrictions were scheduled to go into effect.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump ordered travel from Europe to the United States restricted for 30 days, responding to mounting pressure to take action against a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak disrupting nearly all corners of U.S. daily life.
Trump, whose administration has come under sharp criticism for its response to a public health crisis that he has previously downplayed, also announced several steps aimed at blunting economic fallout posed by coronavirus.
The travel order, which starts on midnight Friday, does not apply to Britain, or to Americans undergoing "appropriate screenings," Trump said.
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