Brazilians react to US travel ban due to pandemic

Brazilians reacted on Monday to the decision by the White House on a ban travel to the U.S. from Brazil due to the spread of coronavirus in Latin America's hardest-hit country.

One passenger, who was taking a domestic flight, said she agreed with the measure taken by US President Donald Trump, adding that she thought Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro should take COVID-19 more seriously and increase public measures to fight it.

Brazil has also adopted some restrictive measures related to travelers. Foreigners are not allowed to enter the country if they are not permanent residents or have a specific visa or can justify their visit to Brazil.

However, Bolsonaro has insisted that it's necessary to open the borders as well as has campaigned to reopen the economy and get people to go back to work to avoid an even deeper economic crisis in the country.

This comes as Brazil reported more than 363,000 COVID-19 cases, second only behind the U.S. in the number of infections, according to a Johns Hopkins University count.

Brazil also has recorded more than 22,000 deaths, fifth highest number in the world.

However, the number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

Trump had already banned certain travelers from China, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland and, to a lesser extent, Iran.

He has not moved to ban travel from Russia, which has the world's third-highest number of cases.

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