Slamming 73-year-old President Donald Trump for implementing an immediate ban on European travel to the United States, European Union [EU] called the coronavirus a global crisis, requiring international cooperation. Unlike past presidents, whether you like him or hate him, Trump acted decisively, this time to seal U.S. borders from what could be the worst plague since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. “The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent and it requires cooperation,” said European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel in joint statement. With Italy developing 2,651 new cases, totaling 15,113 cases with 189 deaths, the second most cases next to China, Trump did the right thing sealing off U.S. borders from Europe. Van der Leyen and Michel make zero sense expecting the U.S. to risk more SARS CoV-2 exposure.

Because the U.S. has a $500 billion trade deficit with China, does that mean the U.S. should accept travel from China when it has 80,796 cases with over 3,169 deaths? EU countries like Germany, Spain and France have seen a rapid spike in Covid-19 cases, spreading like wildfire to EU states. Van de Leyen and Michel know there are 134,046 CoV-2 cases worldwide with 4,964 deaths, about 63.8% of the deaths in China if you believe Beijing’s figures. All indications point to China grossly under-reporting the corona virus cases and deaths, claiming recently they’ve had only 18 new cases. Iran has 10,076 cases with 429 deaths, only exceeded by South Korea with 7.869 cases and 114 deaths. Given the world situation, Trump acted decisively to protect the health, safety and welfare of U.S. citizens. Trump banned the EU Schengen bloc that no longer includes the United Kingdom Jan. 31.

Trump acted on the advice of Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of Allergy and Infections Diseases at the Bethesda, Md.-based National Institutes of Health. Rapid escalation in Covid-19 cases in the U.S. totals 1,523 cases with 40 deaths, not too bad on global level considering the 340 million U.S. population. What concerned Fauci the most was 222 new cases, including National Basketball Assn. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and shooting guard Donovan Mitchell. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver suspended the rest of the NBA season yesterday following the spread to its players. Epidemiologists like Fauci think the Covid-19 outbreak will get worse before it gets better, not knowing whether the current pandemic is just beginning. Sealing off U.S. borders from possibly infected Asian, European or Middle Eastern travelers is the right thing to do to limit the SARS CoV-2 spread in the U.S.

Vice President Mike Pence, who heads Trump’s Covid-19 task force, said the U.S. government asks all U.S. citizens or residents over the next 30 days returning from Europe to self-quarantine for 14 days. “We [don’t believe] that’s the right thing to do,” said British Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak. “The evidence here doesn’t support that,” said Sunak, not realizing that the ban doesn’t apply to the U.K. Former homeland security adviser Tom Bossert tweeted his opposition to Trump’s decision. “Earlier, yes. Now travel restrictions/screening are less useful. We have nearly as much disease here in the U.S. as the countries in Europe,” Bossert said, making a political statement without the facts. Europe’s rapid spread of SARS CoV-2 virus is far worse in than the U.S., prompting Trump to keep out Europeans. More partisan political attacks on Trump only make a bad situation worse.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has yet to close schools, universities or start banning public gatherings. Johnson knows the U.K. has 130 new cases, totaling 590 cases with two deaths. Ireland, that has 70 cases, 27 new cases and only one death, closed all schools and universities until March 31. Trump’s travel ban doesn’t apply to the U.K. and Ireland, because they pose less of a risk to the U.S. Johnson called the Covid-19 pandemic the “worst public health crisis in a generation,” disagreeing with Sunak for slamming Trump for shutting down flights from the EU. Speaking before the House Oversight Committee today, NIH’s Fauci said the U.K was not included in the EU travel ban because of “differences in the ease of transportation between the European countries and the U.K.,” referring to customs arrangements with the U.K. and Ireland, making coronavirus testing easier.

Turning the SARS CoV-2 pandemic into a political issue, 77-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden slammed the Trump administration for poorly handling the crisis. Biden doesn’t say exactly what he’d do differently, other than taking a shot at Trump in a global crisis. EU Commission President Ursula Von de Leyen and Council President Charles Michel are off-the-wall criticizing Trump for sealing off U.S. borders. With over $20 trillion in market wealth erased by SARS CoV-2, Trump can’t afford more health consequences to U.S. citizens or more damage to financial markets. If no epidemiologist at WHO or the CDC knows when U.S. or global containment will occur with Covid-19, how can anyone be critical of Trump for implementing travel bans from China, Europe and the Middle East? Watching Biden and other Democrats play politics in a global health emergency shows real desperation.