The US and Mexico have restricted crossings at the southern border banning general tourism.
Citing fears over migrants carrying the virus, President Donald Trump said ‘nonessential travel’ is banned.
Trade will continue in both directions and essential travel for work, including medical and education reasons is still allowed.
The restrictions ‘will save countless lives,’ Trump said.
"Our nation’s top health care officials are extremely concerned about the great public health consequences of mass uncontrolled cross-border movement."
"Every week, border agents encounter thousands of unscreened, unvetted and unauthorized entries from dozens of countries, and we’ve had this problem for decades."
The ban came into effect at the same time as restrictions at the US-Canada border.
With no evidence linking traffic at the southern border to the coronavirus outbreak, the move was slammed by immigrant advocacy groups.
"The house is burning down and he wants to talk about walls and borders. He’s so determined to deflect responsibility that he’s trying to make the cornerstone of his response keeping foreigners out, rather than ramping tests up," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice.
