The Trump administration, moving quickly to halt the spread of the coronavirus, is seriously considering grounding all passenger air traffic for up to 30 days, temporarily halting stock trading on Wall Street, and imposing a shelter-in-place rule, according to officials.
Key officials have begun alerting industry leaders, Capitol Hill, and agencies that the “radical” plan could come early next week if the warlike efforts to stop the spread of the virus fail.
On Thursday, the administration began to prepare the nation for 9/11-style moves when the State Department issued a “Level Four” warning against traveling overseas. The warning is the most severe that the department has.
In a notice, the State Department said Americans traveling abroad may find their travel “severely disrupted” and “may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite time frame.”
The three radical moves could come as soon as next week, depending on how much the coronavirus spreads. There are some internal government models that show that the number of people infected in the coming two months could reach over 5 million.
