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U.S. NEWS Saturday 21 March 2020

Silvia Shadden, 68, in blue, pulls a cart as she leaves a U.S. cus-
toms checkpoint in El Paso, Texas after a she went to Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico for a doctor's appointment on Friday, March 20,
2020.
Associated Press
Virus prompts US

and Mexico to restrict American and Canadian cruise ship passengers from the Costa Luminosa arrive at Atlanta's Harts-

border travel field-Jackson International Airport, near Atlanta , Friday, March 20, 2020. Associated Press

Associated Press two governments substan- Stranded cruise ship passengers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mexi- tially softened the eco-
co and the U.S. announced nomic effects. Also, fewer describe chaotic flight home
Friday that they would Americans are heading
prohibit all "non-essential" south because of a state-
travel across their shared wide stay-at-home order in By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON had no symptoms, the U.S. movie."
border as part of efforts to California and a State De- and JEFF MARTIN Associ- Department of Health and In another instance, the
control the spread of the partment warning advis- ated Press Human Services and the co-pilot asked her and oth-
coronavirus. ing Americans not to travel ATLANTA (AP) — On a Centers for Disease Control ers whether they should
Both countries and Cana- abroad. chaotic flight home, some and Prevention said. Thir- land in Bermuda, instead
da also agreed to immedi- Still, the restrictions are a passengers who had been teen others were sick but of continuing all the way to
ately turn back anyone try- major development along stranded for days aboard hadn't been tested, and Atlanta.
ing to cross their borders ille- the world's most heavily a cruise ship after being one passenger was sent to "We didn't have a choice.
gally, with U.S. officials say- crossed border. Mexican exposed to the corona- a local hospital. We had been turned away
ing that the unchecked en- shoppers are the lifeblood virus suffered breathing Harrell, 51, said she isolat- for the last eight days," Har-
try of people from around of smaller U.S. border problems, many coughed ed two other passengers rell said.
the world poses a potential towns, and it is common for and several fainted with no who were having breath- For many, the flight was a
health risk because of the people in both countries to food or medical personnel ing problems. One had a culmination of an already
rapidly spreading virus. cross frequently to visit fam- provided, travelers said Fri- chronic lung disease and harrowing journey that
"The actions we are tak- ily and friends. day. needed to be hooked to began on March 5 in Fort
ing together with our North As news of the ban spread, "It was a suicide mission," a ventilator, she said. An- Lauderdale. Some passen-
American partners will save people like 68-year-old El said passenger Jenny Har- other passenger had an gers said they wanted to
countless lives," President Paso resident Silvia Shad- rell, of Fredericksburg, Vir- asthma attack and several cancel the trans-Atlantic
Donald Trump said in an- den rushed to cross even ginia. "It was a mass triage others fainted, apparently cruise, but the company
nouncing the measures. if her reason could meet with absolutely no direction from low blood sugar lev- refused to give them a re-
Trump administration offi- the definition of essential. and the crew going, 'What els. Harrell said many trav- fund, assuring them it was
cials and Mexican Foreign Walking with a crutch, she should we do now?'" elers were coughing and safe to go three days be-
Secretary Marcelo Ebrard returned from getting a Decisions were left up to she helped treat people fore the U.S. State Depart-
outlined restrictions similar weekly vitamin injection the passengers, said Har- who had a fever. ment issued a warning for
to those put in place ear- from a doctor in Mexico's rell, who had some emer- "There should have been U.S. citizens not to travel on
lier this week along the U.S. Ciudad Juarez that costs a gency medical training in medical personnel on that cruise ships.
and Canadian border. The fraction of what it does in the past and helped a phy- flight," Harrell said. On March 8, an Italian
ban would apply to people the U.S. sician who was also among Costa Luminosa passen- woman disembarked in
who cross for tourism or rec- "I went to Juarez to see the the passengers. gers also complained they Puerto Rico with breath-
reation and other activities doctor and get my injec- The jet carrying 359 peo- were given no food other ing problems. She and her
deemed "non-essential." tion," Shadden, who suffers ple, including hundreds of than orange juice and husband, who also got off
"Everyone else is not ex- from a vitamin deficiency American and Canadian crackers in more than 24 the boat, were hospitalized
pected to have any diffi- that causes muscle atro- passengers from a Costa hours — the time it took and tested positive for the
culties," Ebrard told report- phy, said as she returned Cruises ship flying home to disembark in Marseille, new coronavirus. Since the
ers in Mexico City. "We're from the U.S. border check- from France, landed at At- France, to fly to Atlanta, new cases came to light,
not talking about closing it." point. lanta's international airport and be cleared by officials. the Costa Luminosa was
The ban, which takes ef- In San Diego, an outlet mall as emergency responders, At one point, Harrell said, denied entry to several
fect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, catering to shoppers at and health and customs of- the flight attendants hand- countries.
does not include commer- the nation's busiest border ficials deployed to screen ed her the cabin micro- The 1,400 passenger ship
cial traffic and remains in crossing was closed and them for the coronavirus. phone. was finally allowed permis-
place as long as needed, people made the last of Three people on the flight "I basically took over the sion to dock in Marseille,
officials said. what would be considered tested positive for the coro- plane," she said. "I couldn't France, under strict quar-
By excluding commercial non-essential trips under navirus before landing but even make this up for a antine conditions. q
traffic from the ban, the the new rules. q