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United States bans flights from Brazil over coronavirus pandemic

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The United States has barred arrivals from Brazil, the country with the second-highest number of cases in the world after the US.

The United States cited Brazil’s surging coronavirus crisis.

In recent weeks, coronavirus cases and deaths have exploded in Brazil, Latin America’s most populous country.

Its president, Jair Bolsonaro, a pandemic skeptic, had ignored the warnings of health experts and mocked social distancing measures. Now, Brazil has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the world — trailing only the United States — with more than 350,000 cases and 22,700 deaths.

As hospitals collapsed and mayors and governors begged for help, Mr. Bolsonaro spent recent months fighting the Supreme Court, Congress and even his own ministers. He now finds himself the target of an investigation into whether he shielded his family from corruption inquiries.

American officials said Sunday they were imposing the ban to slow the spread of the disease.

“Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country,” said the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany.

The new travel restrictions will not affect bilateral trade, she said.

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