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The US government has announced that it is expanding its travel ban on most European countries to include Britain and Ireland as it seeks to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump made the announcement in a press conference this afternoon. The ban will start on Monday at midnight Eastern Standard Time (4am GMT).

Britain and Ireland were initially exempt from his 30-day ban on travelers from 26 European countries that took effect at midnight on Friday.

He said: "We're looking at it very seriously, yeah, because they've had a little bit of activity unfortunately, so we're going to be looking at that.

"We actually already have looked at it and that is going to be announced."

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US vice president Mike Pence confirmed the ban on travel from the UK and Ireland.

He said: "In our taskforce meeting today the president has made a decision to suspend all travel to the UK and Ireland, effective midnight Monday night, eastern standard time."

Mr Pence said there had been a "unanimous recommendation" from health experts to extend the travel ban.

"Americans in the UK or Ireland can come home, legal residents can come home ... they will will be funnelled through specific airports and processed."

Chad Wolf, acting Secretary of Homeland Security, said Mr Trump decided to extend the ban because of the growing number of coronavirus cases in the UK - which currently stands at 1,140.

Infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci says there are 20,226 coronavirus cases in the US but the country has not yet "reached peak" of an outbreak.

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(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Mr Trump about the ban being extended to the UK and Ireland.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "They discussed the coronavirus pandemic and the action being taken to stop the spread of the virus.

"The Prime Minister set out the science-led approach the UK is taking.

"Ahead of a call with G7 leaders on the outbreak, the Prime Minister and the President agreed on the importance of international coordination to accelerate progress on the development of a vaccine and to prevent economic disruption for our citizens.

"The leaders also paid tribute to the coalition soldiers who lost their lives in the deplorable attack on the Taji military base last week, including British servicewoman Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon, and committed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in Iraq to help the country resist the malign activity of terrorists."

Mr Trump himself has been tested for the killer bug and is awaiting the results.

It comes as more than 800 people in Britain have tested positive for the virus and more than 20 have died from COVID-19, the disease it causes.

In the US, an 82-year-old woman has become the first person in New York to die from the killer bug.

The state's governor Andrew Cuomo said the woman, who had previously suffered from emphysema, was hospitalised in Manhattan on March 3.

He told reporters the state's tally of cases had risen to 524.

(Image: REUTERS)

More than 2,000 people in the US have been infected and 48 have died.

On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency in a move that he said would bring "the full power of the federal government" to bear on the escalating health crisis by freeing up some $50 billion in aid.

He also urged every state to set up emergency centers to help fight the virus.

The pandemic has forced public schools, sports events and cultural and entertainment venues to close across the United States.

On Friday, American shoppers picked grocery store shelves clean of products ranging from disinfectants to rice, causing retailers to race to restock their stores.

(Image: PA)

In response to the run on certain items, major retailers have imposed some purchase limits.

Coronavirus took its biggest toll yet on this year's U.S. presidential election when Louisiana announced on Friday it had postponed its Democratic and Republican presidential primaries.

Early on Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a coronavirus aid package that would provide free testing and paid sick leave, in a bid to limit the economic damage from the outbreak.

By a bipartisan vote of 363 to 40, the Democratic-controlled House passed a multi-billion dollar effort that would expand safety-net programs to help those who could be thrown out of work in the weeks to come.

Trump said he supported the package, raising the likelihood that it will pass the Republican-controlled Senate next week.

Economists say the impact of the outbreak on businesses could tip the U.S. economy into recession.