Coronavirus – Europe to close borders TODAY as all non-essential travel into EU banned for month
THE European Union has closed its borders to the rest of the world as the new “coronavirus epicentre” battles to contain the spread of the deadly bug.
Yesterday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the EU’s Schengen zone – the block’s free movement zone – will be closed to outside travellers from today.
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This step was taken in coordination with the other EU members, he said.
Brits will also be banned from the continent for at least a month unless Boris Johnson agrees to mirror the EU-wide ban on visitors from the rest of the world.
In a TV address to the nation, Mr Macron declared: “We are at war.”
He all but shut down France, banning people from socialising beyond their home from midday today.
People will have to stay at home unless shopping for food, going to a pharmacy, heading for absolutely essential work, or exercising alone.
The police and army will strictly enforce the restrictions, with unspecified “punishments” for those who flout them.
Mr Macron also revealed that France’s borders with other European countries will also be closed, although French nationals will be allowed to “return home.”
Countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland and Lithuania have also closed their borders to their neighbours as they battle against the virus.
Ireland and the UK being have been urged to shut down their external borders too – so travel with the rest of the bloc will be able to continue.
The Schengen zone consists of 22 of the 27 European Union member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
European Union leaders are set to hold a summit via video-conference today on efforts to contain the spread of the virus, which has now infected more than 50,000 people across Europe, and claimed more than 2,000 lives.
Travel has decreased sharply as more and more countries apply tough new restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.
At the weekend, Jet2 ordered planes heading for Spain to perform a dramatic U-turn and announced that it would no longer fly to Lyon, Grenoble, Paris and Nice until at least April 26.
In the US, President Donald Trump has extended his European flight ban to the UK and Ireland while travellers returning home from abroad have been stuck in line for hours at major airports for screenings.
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