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Taking dramatic action, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is sharply restricting passenger travel from 26 European Schengen countries to the U.S. for 30 days starting on Friday night in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Euronews reported. 

Trump, in a rare Oval Office address to the nation, said the month-long restriction on travel would begin late Friday, at midnight. After days of playing down the coronavirus threat, he blamed Europe for not acting quickly enough to address the “foreign virus” and claimed that U.S. clusters were “seeded” by European travellers.

“We made a lifesaving move with early action on China," Trump said. "Now we must take the same action with Europe.”

Trump said the restrictions won't apply to the United Kingdom, and there would be exemptions for “Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings." He said the U.S. would monitor the situation to determine if travel could be reopened earlier.

The State Department followed Trump's remarks by issuing an extraordinary global health advisory cautioning U.S. citizens to “reconsider travel abroad” due to the virus and associated quarantines and restrictions.