"The travel ban with China made a difference," Dr. Tom Frieden, the former CDC director and current head of global health initiative Resolve to Save Lives, told the USA TODAY editorial board and reporters in late March. "It resulted in a significant delay in the number of people coming in with infection and because of that, that bought time in the U.S. to better prepare. And yet, that time wasn't optimally used."
Former CDC director: China travel ban 'made a difference' but US didn't prepare enough for coronavirus
At the time the samples were taken, Italy had the most coronavirus cases and deaths. A month later, the United States overtook Italy, with New York emerging as the epicenter.
With 3.6 million cases on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data, the United States has the world's worst outbreak of coronavirus, and more than 138,700 people have died. That's 1.6 million more cases and 62,000 deaths than the next country on the list, Brazil.
The European Union on Thursday extended its ban on Americans from entering the bloc.
The EU first started lifting international travel restrictions on July 1, welcoming visitors from 14 countries, including Canada, South Korea and Australia. Americans remain barred from visiting the bloc for at least another two weeks under Thursday's decision, announced by the European Council.