Walls are being raised and mass quarantines enforced across Europe to combat the spread of the coronavirus, with Germany the latest to partly seal its borders, banning entrants from France, Switzerland and Austria from Monday.
More than 100 million people across the continent are on lockdown after Spain announced it would follow Italy in confining citizens to their homes for 15 days unless they had to buy food or medicine, go to work or seek medical treatment.
Spain’s death toll from the Covid-19 virus doubled on Sunday to 288 with more than 8,000 infections reported, the second-worst rates after Italy, where more than 1,400 people have died and more than 21,000 are sick. Italy announced a record one-day death toll of 368 on Sunday.
German media outlets said three of the country’s key borders would be closed amid more than 4,500 coronavirus cases and at least nine deaths, with exceptions made for cargo and commuters. Neighbouring countries Denmark, the Czech Republic and Poland have closed their borders to tourists.
Austria said gatherings of more than five people would be banned from Monday, part of a wave of restrictions across the continent the World Health Organization says has become the “epicentre” of the outbreak.
Non-essential shops would be closed along with restaurants, bars, playgrounds and sports venues, the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, announced, warning that the next weeks would be “challenging, difficult and painful”.
More than 800 people have been infected out of a population of 8.8 million and one person has died. Vienna has banned anyone entering from the UK, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Russia.
In France, where 91 people have died, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and most shops are shut. Plane, train and coach services between cities will be reduced from Sunday but Paris Métro services would continue for the time being, the government said.
Bulgaria said it would ban incoming flights from Spain and Italy.
With infections exponentially increasing in many countries, leaders of the G7 were preparing to hold an extraordinary summit via video link on Monday to try to coordinate a financial and medical response to the pandemic.
International travel and internal movement in many countries will be severely curtailed by restrictions set to come into effect over the coming days.
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
- Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
- Avoid direct, unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces in contact with animals when visiting live markets in affected areas
- Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and exercise care when handling raw meat, milk or animal organs to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.
Despite a surge in sales of face masks in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, experts are divided over whether they can prevent transmission and infection. There is some evidence to suggest that masks can help prevent hand-to-mouth transmissions, given the large number of times people touch their faces. The consensus appears to be that wearing a mask can limit – but not eliminate – the risks, provided it is used correctly.
In China, where the vast majority of fresh cases were being recorded among people arriving from abroad, rather than through domestic transmission, the government announced that anyone landing in Beijing from Monday would be quarantined for 14 days in a government facility.
Anyone arriving in Australia will be ordered to self-isolate for two weeks and could face steep fines for not doing so, the government said on Sunday, as two more people there were confirmed to have died from the virus. Nearly 250 people have tested positive, according to the country’s health department.
The US on Saturday added the UK and Ireland to a list of European countries from which entrants would be temporarily banned.
Pictures from several American airports showed huge crowds of people scrambling to return to the US, raising concerns that the government’s response might itself help to spark new cases.
The UK Foreign Office on Sunday advised against “all but essential travel” to the US. Donald Trump said on Saturday he had been tested for the virus and found negative.
The Philippines recorded four more coronavirus deaths and 29 new cases, bringing the domestic tally of infections to 140, with the entire population of the capital, Manila, placed under “community quarantine” for about a month beginning on Sunday.
The Vatican’s Easter services will be held next month without attendees, the Holy See has said, in a move believed to be unprecedented in modern times.
Iran, whose caseload and number of deaths are the highest in the world after China and Italy, announced 113 deaths over the past 24 hours, its highest single-day toll so far. More than 14,000 people have been infected and 724 have died, according to official statistics, the accuracy of which has been challenged by the WHO.
Those dying in the Iranian outbreak are significantly younger than elsewhere, with 15% of them younger than 40, according to health ministry statistics. The official leading the response was quoted on Sunday warning that the country’s sanctions-hit health system threatened to be overwhelmed by the virus.
The figures came as public authorities continued to disagree over measures to stem the flow of new cases. Some of the worst affected areas called for a quarantine of their cities, but the mayor of Tehran said the measure was not practicable. He has advised all people aged over 60 to stay home, but he is not imposing a closure of shops or offices. Officials are relying on citizens to show self-restraint.
A claim by the Revolutionary Guards on Friday that they were set to clean the streets, roads and shops over the weekend did not materialise, with large numbers of people still out in Tehran shopping and behaving as normal. The army instead started screening-drills in a small number of provinces.
The president, Hassan Rouhani, said he opposed curfews, and also rejected plans for fines to be imposed on anyone found to be driving while infected. He said it would be a sufficient punishment to turn people back, and gave the go-ahead for roadside checks in 11 provinces. He also announced a three-month grace period for hard-pressed businesses to pay tax, electricity, water and gas bills and banking loans.
On Sunday South Africa declared a national disaster and introduced a series of drastic measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
In a televised address on Sunday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa told South Africans that the greatest danger lay in “fear and ignorance”. The current total of cases in the country now stands at over 60, with internal transmission of the virus becoming more common.
Caseloads across Africa are still small compared with elsewhere but there were widespread fears that countries would have difficulty coping with large outbreaks, with only short supplies of ventilators and other critical equipment in many places.
The Irish government on Sunday said all bars in the country should close until at least the end of the month after videos of singing in packed Dublin venues on Saturday sparked anger on social media. The move comes just two days before the country’s national day, St Patrick’s Day.
