XINHUA

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday, March 20, the United States and Mexico have agreed to restrict nonessential travel along their border to counter the Covid-19 outbreak.

Pompeo announced the restriction at the White House daily briefing on coronavirus.

The restriction was similar to the one regarding the U.S.-Canadian border that the Trump administration announced on Wednesday, March 18.

U.S. acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said later that travel restriction measures with both Canada and Mexico will go into effect on Saturday, March 21, and will not apply to trade and commerce.

The Donald Trump administration has adopted several travel restrictions as Covid-19 is spreading rapidly across North America and Europe.

U.S. travel restrictions against European countries have also come into force.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday, Mach 19, raised its travel advisory to an unprecedented Level 4, which instructs its citizens to avoid all international travels amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus.

According to the latest update by the Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 14,000 confirmed cases and 205 deaths related to the coronavirus in the United States.