President Donald Trump confirmed the US’s current Schengen area travel ban would be extended to the UK and Ireland in a press conference on Saturday (14 March).
Vice-president Mike Pence later confirmed the restrictions would come into force on Monday (16 March).
On Friday (13 March), the US barred flights from most European countries from entering the US for 30 days in an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus. The UK and Ireland, however, were initially excluded.
There have now been more than 2,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the US, and nearly 150,000 worldwide.
