President Trump was prescient in restricting travel to the United States from China on Jan. 27. And he’s wise to widen those restrictions again now, as the coronavirus continues to spread, with cases continuing to rise exponentially.

Targeting the European Union’s Schengen Area makes sense: These 26 countries allow free travel within the zone, with no passport or border control. And one of them is Italy, the European nation hardest hit — and likely the country with the most cases outside of China and Iran — with 15,113 confirmed cases and more than 1,000 deaths.

So shutting off travel from Italy alone wouldn’t have been enough to stall the wider spread of COVID-19 within America. Leaders of other countries in the zone have warned their citizens to be prepared for the pandemic: German Chancellor Angela Merkel expects up to 70 percent of people in her nation to get the bug.

Trump may have to do more soon. Ireland and the United Kingdom, while not part of the Schengen Area, have quite a few cases, as do South Korea and Japan.

Then there are the mixed messages over whether US citizens and permanent residents who test positive will be allowed back in. On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence — the administration point man — said all Americans will be welcomed home, regardless of condition. Trump then contradicted him, saying those who test positive won’t be.

Trump gets to set policy — but doing it on the fly is a huge mistake. And it looks like he should leave all explaining-the-details stuff to others: His Wednesday night remarks wound up being misleading about whether European cargo is banned — it’s not.

The administration needs to get its act together now, for the good of the nation.

Either way, anyone allowed back needs to be screened. Banning only some people and refusing to screen the rest makes no sense if the worry is travelers bringing back infectious disease. The administration needs to define — and communicate — its procedures clearly.