U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is pushing the State Department to provide guidance and assistance to Americans stuck abroad after heightened travel restrictions, lockdowns, and border closures across the globe to curb the spread of coronavirus have left U.S. citizens stranded in foreign countries indefinitely.
“I have heard from an alarming number of Virginians in the past few days who are abroad and unable to return to the United States due to restrictions on movement, closed borders, nationwide lockdowns, and canceled flights. Stranded in Peru, Honduras, Morocco, China, Guatemala and other countries, these Americans are desperately trying to navigate these difficult and rapidly evolving circumstances to return to their homes and their families,” Sen. Warner wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The State Department is responsible for the safety and security of Americans overseas, which includes providing information to help U.S. citizens navigate rapidly shifting travel restrictions in a world wide effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.