Trump did not quarantine New York, warned against travel

US President Donald Trump abandoned the declaration of quarantine in the federal states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, instead ordering the issuance of a strict travel advisory to prevent the spread of the corona virus.

Trump announced that he made the decision after consulting with the White House team in charge of fighting the pandemic and the governors of the federal states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

He said he had ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "to issue a strong advisory to avoid travel" and added that "quarantine will not be necessary."

US Vice President Mike Pence wrote on Twitter that the Centers for Disease Control is urging residents of those three states to "refrain from non-essential travel for the next 14 days."

The introduction of the quarantine has been championed by some governors, including Florida Republican leader Ron DeSantis, who have called for travelers from the hardest-hit areas to be barred from entering their states.

However, the idea was immediately criticized by the governors of the hardest-hit federal states, warning that it would lead to the spread of panic among the population already affected by the corona virus.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who criticized the federal government's response to the pandemic when his state became the epicenter of the coronavirus, said placing the three states under quarantine would be a "declaration of war by the federal government."

"If you start isolating areas across the country, that would be completely bizarre, counterproductive, anti-American, anti-social," Cuomo told CNN.

He added that isolating New York, the US financial capital, would shock stock markets and "paralyze the economy" at a time when Trump is hinting that he will make major efforts to preserve the economy.

More than 123.000 people have been confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus in the US, of which more than 2.200 have died.

The USA is the country with by far the highest number of registered corona virus infections in the world, and in recent days there has been a sharp increase in the number of patients.