FactChecking Trump’s Coronavirus Address

In a short primetime address, President Donald Trump provided false, misleading and incomplete information about the new coronavirus and actions his administration has taken or will take to staunch its spread:

• In announcing new restrictions on travel from Europe, Trump inaccurately said that the U.S. would suspend “all travel from Europe” for the next 30 days, excluding the U.K. In fact, the policy exempts other nations as well, and only applies to 26 so-called Schengen Area countries.
• Trump wrongly said that the European travel prohibitions would also pertain to a “tremendous amount of trade and cargo.” Goods are not affected by the policy.
• Referring to an earlier meeting about coronavirus-related health insurance coverage, the president incorrectly said that industry leaders had agreed to “waive all copayments for coronavirus treatments.” Those leaders only agreed to no copayments for coronavirus testing.
• The president repeated the disputed claim that his decision to impose restrictions on travel to and from China was a “life-saving move.” Experts say that determination can’t be made without more data.
• Trump said