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US President Donald Trump says he will be signing a presidential executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States due to coronavirus.
- Mr Trump restricted travellers entering the US from hard-hit European countries and China
- Restrictions have not been extended to other nations with coronavirus outbreaks
- The US has by far the world's largest number of positive cases
"In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" Mr Trump tweeted.
He offered no details as to what immigration programs might be affected by the order.
The White House did not immediately elaborate on Mr Trump's tweeted announcement.
Mr Trump has taken credit for his restrictions on travel from China and hard-hit European countries, arguing it contributed to slowing the spread of the virus in the US.
But he has yet to extend those restrictions to other nations now experiencing virus outbreaks.
Due to the pandemic, almost all visa processing by the State Department, including immigrant visas, has been suspended for weeks.
The US has by far the world's largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
It has recorded more than 42,200 deaths and a total of 786,600 positive coronavirus infections, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.
The US economy has ground to a standstill due to the coronavirus and more than 22 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in the last month.
Reuters/AP
Topics: covid-19, diseases-and-disorders, immigration, government-and-politics, community-and-society, epidemics-and-pandemics, donald-trump, world-politics, health, united-states
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