AS WE COME ON THE AIR THIS
FRIDAY, THERE IS GROWING ALARM
AT HOME AND AROUND THE WORLD
WITH WORD OF A NEW POTENTIALLY
EVEN MORE CONTAGIOUS VARIANT OF
THE CORONAVIRUS.
THE DISCOVERY COMES FROM AFRICA,
TRIGGERING A FLOOD OF COUNTRIES
TO SUSPEND TRAVEL FROM ABOUT
HALF A DOZEN SOUTHERN AFRICAN
NATIONS.
THE UK WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
COUNTRIES TO INITIATE A TRAVEL
BAN FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY THE 27
NATION EUROPEAN UNION MOVING TO
CONTAIN THE VARIANT.
TAKING NO CHANCES BEFORE IT
SPREADS AROUND THE WORLD.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT HAS BEEN SWIFT
WITH EMERGENCY MEETINGS OF
HEALTH OFFICIALS AND THE STOCK
MARKET PLUNGING.
THE DOW DOWN 8 00 POINTS AT THE
OPEN.
>>> 900 NOW.
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
MEANWHILE IS URGING CAUTION ON
TRAVEL BANS AND U.S. HEALTH
OFFICIALS SAY WHILE A BAN IS
POSSIBLE, IT IS TOO SOON TO
KNOW.
>> WELL, I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY AS
SOON AS WE FIND OUT MORE
INFORMATION, WE’LL MAKE A
DECISION AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
YOU ALWAYS PUT THESE THINGS ON
THE TABLE, BUT YOU DON’T WANT TO
SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT UNTIL
YOU HAVE SCIENTIFIC REASON TO DO
IT.
THAT’S THE REASON WHY WE’RE
RUSHING NOW TO GET THAT
SCIENTIFIC DATA TO TRY AND MAKE
AN INFORMED DECISION ABOUT
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
YOU’RE PREPARED TO DO EVERYTHING
YOU NEED TO DO TO PROTECT THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC, BUT YOU WANT TO
MAKE SURE THERE’S A BASIS FOR
DOING THAT, AND THAT’S WHAT
WE’RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
>> JOINING ME NOW IS RAPH
SANCHEZ AND JOSH LETTERMAN WHO
IS WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN IN
NANTUCKET.
MSNBC MEDICAL CONTRIBUTOR AND
POLITICO CHIEF ECONOMIC
CORRESPONDENT.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
RAPH, YOU’RE IN ISRAEL.
THE FIRST CASES WERE FOUND
OUTSIDE OF AFRICA IN ISRAEL AND
BELGIUM.
I KNOW TEL AVIV AND ISRAEL IS
SHUTTING DOWN TRAVEL FROM SOUTH
AFRICA.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THERE?
>> YEAH.
KATY, ISRAEL’S GOVERNMENT IS
MOVING MORE AGGRESSIVELY THAN
ANY OTHER.
THEY’RE STOPPING TRAVEL FROM
PRETTY MUCH EVERY COUNTRY IN
AFRICA WITH ONLY A HANDFUL OF
EXCEPTIONS.
THIS COMES AFTER ONE CONFIRMED
CASE, TWO SUSPECTED CASES OF
THAT NEW VARIANT.
THE CONFIRMED CASE IN A TRAVELER
WHO RETURNED RECENTLY FROM MA
LAW WAY.
NOW, ALL THREE OF THOSE PEOPLE
ARE IN ISOLATION.
BUT THE ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER
IS PREPARING THE PUBLIC HERE FOR
FURTHER SPREAD.
HE IS TELLING PEOPLE THAT ISRAEL
IS AT THE THRESHOLD OF AN
EMERGENCY SITUATION.
WE’VE SEEN SIMILARLY THE UK AND
THE EUROPEAN UNION MOVING TO
RESTRICT TRAVEL SLIGHTLY LESS
DRASTICALLY
DRASTICALLY, BUT FROM SOUTH
AFRICA AND FIVE OTHER SOUTHERN
AFRICAN NATIONS.
WE’VE SEEN OTHER TRAVEL
RESTRICTIONS COMING INTO PLACE
IN JAPAN, IN SINGAPORE SO FAR.
AS YOU HEARD FROM DR. ANTHONY
FAUCI, THERE’S NO INDICATION YET
THAT THE U.S. IS PLANNING TO
BRING IN A SIMILAR TRAVEL BAN.
AND THERE IS SOME DEBATE AMONG
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN ISRAEL
AND AROUND THE WORLD ABOUT
WHETHER THESE TRAVEL BANS
ACTUALLY WORK TO STOP THE
VARIANT SPREADING, WHETHER THEY
SERVE A MEDICAL PURPOSE OR IF
IT’S MORE ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT