The United States said on Sunday, May 25 that it was banning all travel into the U.S. by non-citizens who have been in Brazil, Al Jazeera reports.

"We hope that it will be temporary, but because of the situation in Brazil, we're going to take every step necessary to protect the American people," National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told CBS's Face the Nation programme.

Brazil registered 653 deaths on Sunday and an additional 15,813 cases, bringing the total to 363,211.

Writing on Twitter, Filipe Martins, a foreign affairs adviser to President Jair Bolsonaro played down the move saying the ban was "nothing specific against Brazil" and the US was following "preciously established parameters".