LORI HINNANT and NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Sweeping travel bans accelerated around the globe Thursday, walling regions apart, keeping people inside their homes, and slowing the engines of commerce to try to slow the unfolding coronavirus pandemic. In the U.S., stocks dropped so fast that trading halted for the second time this week.
President Donald Trump, who had downplayed the virus for weeks, delivered a somber Oval Office address announcing strict rules on travel from much of Europe after accusing governments there of failing to respond quickly to the threat. The State Department followed with an extraordinary warning to Americans to "reconsider travel abroad" as well.
The European Union quickly slammed Trump's "unilateral" decision, declaring the virus a "glo
