MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - The travel ban from Europe begins in hours.
Vice President Pence said in a news conference, “Not only are we bringing a whole of government approach to confronting the coronavirus, we’re bringing an all of America approach.”
The restrictions, which extend to 26 counties, will not apply to American citizens, and as of Thursday, they also exclude the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Pence continued, “Americans that are returning will be screened, and asked to voluntarily participate in a 14-day quarantine.
People returning to the United States from Paris had mixed reactions to President Trump’s decision.
One passenger said, “I’ve been through customs before, and this is probably more packed crowded and less organized.”
But other travelers said the commander in chief’s decision, made during a speech from the Oval Office, Wednesday night, makes sense considering the severity of the outbreak.
“In Europe there are a lot of cases of the coronavirus, so it is the right move,” said traveler Luis Saguay.
“Seems like if it’s necessary, then I’m glad it happened,” said traveler Daniel Westen.
Flight boards showed a cancelled flight from Paris and others that were on schedule from Madrid.
“It was actually really emotional for me, because my mom is an overseas teacher,” said traveler Rachel Cruz.
Since Cruz’s mother, who teaches in Spain, is a U.S. citizen, she will be able to fly home, but for many people who call Europe home, a trip to the U.S. is currently out of the question.
“I’m sure it was a decision that needed to happen, but I think it did put a lot of fear out there,” said Cruz.
“It’s scary, you know, because it’s getting closer to home, and there’s more cases,” said Saguay.
7News cameras captured airport employees giving out free hand sanitizer to travelers.
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Alex Herrera was anxiously waiting to pick up his grandmother.
“That would be my grandma’s health, because she has an underlying condition. She has diabetes,” he said. “I’m scared for her, but we’re going to try to isolate her.”
Others, like a family from Brazil, arrived at MIA on vacation, but they said the crowds made them feel uncomfortable.
“We are afraid because we are in the airport,” said a family member.
On Thursday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced they want those same restrictions applied to Cuba.
Government officials in Cuba said they only have a handful of cases, but Gimenez said he is not convinced.
“I believe there’s probably a heck of a lot more, and it poses a risk to the people of Miami-Dade County and our state,” he said.
Traveler Fidel Peres, who flew to Cuba on Thursday, said he believes it’s a bad decision because it would keep families in Cuba and Miami apart.
At MIA’s international arrivals area, the traffic appeared to be as busy as it would look on any other night.
But some travelers said they’ve had to make changes to their plans.
Eline Poelstra said she flew back from France earlier than anticipated.
“We came home early. We were supposed to leave on Monday,” she said, “’cause the ban got put in place, so we woke up at 2 a.m. and booked new flights.”
Poelstra is an American citizen, so the new restrictions would not have impacted her group, but they wanted to be home anyway, given all the coronavirus-related changes.
Gimenez also announced Jackson Memorial Hospital will staff isolation spaces at MIA and PortMiami to handle any travelers who may be suspected of carrying the virus.
“Clinicians will decide at what point to release the patients to help them transition home to self-isolate,” he said.
The question now becomes what comes next.
Trump said there are no plans to affect domestic travel, but they are monitoring the situation.
“Is it a possibility? Yes. If somebody gets a little bit out of control, if an area gets too hot. You see what they’re doing in New Rochelle?” he said referring to the coronavirus outbreak in New York state.
The European travel restrictions will be going into place at 11:59 p.m. on Friday. They are expected to last at least a month.
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