U.S. institutes 30-day travel ban on Europe, taps SBA and tax deferrals to stimulate the economy

In a Wednesday evening address from the Oval Office President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would issue a thirty day travel ban for travel from the European Union while tapping the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department to stimulate the U.S. economy.

The steps are the latest effort by the government to tamp down on the spread of COVID-19.

In addition to the travel ban, which does not include the United Kingdom, the President said that he would be authorizing the Small Business Administration to issue some $50 billion in loans to compensate businesses whose income is impacted by efforts to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

That move should allow for more companies to compensate workers for time spent in quarantine if they, or their family members are ill.

Additionally, the President said that he would instruct the Treasury Department to defer tax payments without interest or penalties for individuals and businesses that are negatively impacted by the disease.

“This action will provide more than $200 billion of additional liquidity to the economy,” the President said.

Furthermore, the President issued a call to Congress to eliminate payroll taxes as another step to cushion the economic blow of a more aggressive response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S.

These unprecedented steps follow a tumultuous day on Wall Street and the wider world as the World Health Organization officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and stocks again suffered massive losses in trading on Wall Street.

COVID-19 officially declared a pandemic by the WHO, as deaths pass 4,000

“The virus will not have a chance against us. No nation is more prepared, more resilient than the United States,” the President said.

This story is developing. 

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