Madrid/Berlin - As the new epicentre of the coronavirus
pandemic, Europe was taking extraordinary measures on Friday to stop
its spread, with Spain planning to declare a state of emergency and
countries closing their borders to foreign arrivals.
Spain's move came as latest figures showed it was the worst-hit
European nation after Italy and the World Health Organization (WHO)
declared the continent the new epicentre of the global pandemic.
Spain is to declare a state of emergency after 70,000 people were
placed under quarantine. The move, which is expected to be confirmed
during a special meeting on Saturday, comes after Spanish authorities
shut off four communities in the north-eastern region of Catalonia
from the rest of the country for the next two weeks.
"We want to mobilise all of the state's means in order to be able to
better protect citizens," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Spain was facing an "extraordinary crisis" that would bring
"difficult weeks," he added, speaking after virus-related deaths rose
in the country by 36 in 24 hours to 120.
The pandemic's global death toll has reached 5,000, while the global
number of cases has surpassed 132,000, the WHO said on Friday.
Leaders of the G7 major industrialized nations are to hold a
videoconference summit on Monday to discuss the coronavirus.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the meeting had been called
after discussions with US President Donald Trump and other leaders of
the group, composed of the biggest Western economies and Japan.
"We will coordinate our efforts on a vaccine and on treatments and
will work on an economic and financial response," Macron tweeted.
As the impact of the pandemic grows on economic and social life
across Europe, nations announced new travel restrictions, border
controls, school closures and the cancellation of large events.
Italy, which has seen the worst outbreak outside China, remained
under near lockdown with people banned from leaving their houses
without good reason and all shops except food stores, pharmacies,
newspaper stands and tobacconists closed.
Italy's health system is straining under the outbreak, with more than
17,000 infections diagnosed and 1,266 deaths by Friday evening.
In Germany, many of its 16 states announced school closures and the
country's death toll rose to eight.
Denmark plans to close its borders as of noon Saturday in a drastic
move to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, said Prime Minister Mette
Frederiksen on Friday.
Frederiksen said the country currently has 801 diagnosed cases.
"All tourists and foreigners who can't prove they have an important
reason for visiting Denmark will not be allowed to enter," she said.
Denmark has notified neighbouring Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
Starting on Sunday, Poland will ban entry to the country for
foreigners, and international air and train connections will be
suspended, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
Citizens are allowed in but will be subject to a two-week quarantine
upon re-entry.
Borders will remain open for the flow of goods, he stressed.
Poland will also close stores in shopping malls, except for
pharmacies and grocery stores. Clubs, casinos, bars, pubs and
restaurants will be closed as of Saturday, although food deliveries
will be allowed.
Belgium is to close all restaurants, cafes and bars as of midnight on
Friday until April 3, while Iceland and France reduced the upper
limit on gatherings down to 100 people.
"Our objective is of course not to create hysteria," but to "slow
down the progression, the circulation of the virus across our
national territory," French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told TF1.
The iconic Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, home to the "Mona Lisa," said
on Friday that they were closing indefinitely in following the rule.
French cinemas and theatres will be able to stay open, Culture
Minister Franck Riester told BFMTV television, but they would have to
keep attendance to a maximum of 100 and respect a 1-metre distance
between attendees - which Riester admitted would probably make
theatre performances unfeasible.
All museums under the aegis of his ministry will be closed, said
Riester - who is himself in isolation after testing positive.
The Catholic Church in Paris has cancelled all Sunday masses and
France's main Islamic religious body called for a suspension of
collective Muslim Friday prayers.
Austria said most shops would be shut next week to stem the
coronavirus outbreak and imposed a quarantine on two virus-hit Alpine
regions.
Estonia and Bulgaria also declared temporary states of emergency,
with both governments granting themselves broader powers to restrict
travel and introduce checks at borders, airports and ports.
Turkey has suspended flights to nine European countries and the
Danish Foreign Ministry issued a travel recommendation to avoid
non-essential trips to any part of the world for the coming month.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ignored calls to postpone all
large events and close schools and said late Thursday that health
authorities will stop testing non-serious cases, fuelling a fierce
debate on his government's policies.
However, Queen Elizabeth II decided to postpone planned visits to
north-western England and north London "as a sensible precaution,"
Buckingham Palace said.
The queen, 93, will continue to give royal audiences, it said.