The EU has endorsed the strictest travel ban in its history as France joined Italy and Spain in full lockdown and Donald Trump told Americans to change their behaviour, acknowledging for the first time that beating the coronavirus could take months.
EU leaders on Tuesday suspended all travel into the passport-free Schengen zone by non-EU nationals for at least 30 days in an attempt to instil uniformity across the bloc after some member states, including Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, unilaterally began imposing border checks.
With long lorry tailbacks on some internal borders and concerns mounting over food supplies, it was also “absolutely crucial” to guarantee continued free circulation of goods and EU nationals across the zone, the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said after an EU leaders’ video conference on Tuesday evening.
Charles Michel, the president of the European council, said: “We are confronting this: a serious crisis, a long and difficult crisis. We will do whatever it takes to assure our citizens’ health and safety and limiting the economic consequences of this crisis.”
Permanent residents and their families, medical workers and coronavirus researchers, diplomats and cross-border commuters are exempted and UK nationals are not affected. The EU also announced new measures on collective procurement of medical equipment, and easing state aid rules.
Following Italy and Spain, France went into lockdown at midday on Tuesday, with people allowed to leave their homes only to buy food and other essential supplies, travel to work if unavoidable, exercise or attend medical appointments.
Q&AHow can I protect myself and others from the coronavirus outbreak?
Show
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
- Advice about face masks varies. Wearing them while out and about may offer some protection against both spreading and catching the virus via coughs and sneezes, but it is not a cast-iron guarantee of protection
Many countries are now enforcing or recommending curfews or lockdowns. Check with your local authorities for up-to-date information about the situation in your area.
In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.
If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Monday night the country was “at war”, announcing that the army would help move patients to hospitals and 100,000 police would check the new regulations were being observed. Anyone flouting them risks a fine of €38 (£35), reportedly set to increase to €135.
Anyone leaving their home must complete a legal document downloaded from the interior ministry’s website, or written out by hand, declaring on their honour that they are out for one of the permitted reasons. The country reported 7,730 confirmed cases on Tuesday, 1,097 more than the previous day, and a total of 175 deaths.
The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, warned the country faced recession this year as he announced an initial €45bn aid package to help businesses and employees cope with the crisis.
The struggle against the coronavirus was an “economic and financial war” that will last for some considerable time, Le Maire said. “It will be lengthy and it will be violent … this war will require us to mobilise all our forces,” he said.
Coronavirus cases outside China exceeded 100,000 on Tuesday, with a majority of infected countries in Europe each reporting more than 100 cases. Five countries each reported more than 1,000 new cases: Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Iran.
The World Health Organization’s regional office for Europe said there was a need for decisive measures in all European countries. “Every country, with no exceptions, needs to take their boldest actions to stop or slow down the virus threat,” Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said.
The earlier major outbreak in South Korea continues to ease, while China reported only 12 new cases. While Europe remains the new centre of the pandemic, Africa, South America and south-east Asia are all reporting steady increases at rates similar to those seen in Europe several weeks ago.
In other developments:
There are more than 180,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in 163 countries, and 7,155 deaths.
Italy, Europe’s most affected country, reported 345 new deaths, bringing its tally to more than 3,500.
The Belgian public broadcaster RTBF reported that the country would go into lockdown at midday on Wednesday.
An Iranian state TV journalist said millions could die there if the public kept travelling and ignoring health guidance. Iran has so far reported 988 deaths, with more than 16,000 confirmed cases.
Switzerland’s health care system could collapse by the end of the month if the virus keeps spreading at current rates, a government official warned.
In Norway, 6,200 hospital workers are in quarantine.
Austria said it was preparing to turn Vienna’s sprawling trade fair hall into a makeshift hospital.
Germany has begun bringing thousands of citizens trapped abroad back home and German hospitals boosted the number of intensive care unit beds with respirators from 28,000 to 34,000.
The carmaker Volkswagen joined several of its rivals by saying it would close most of its European plants before the end of the week.
Russia was set to close its borders on Tuesday night and Moscow is thought likely to go into lockdown before the end of the week.
Italy said it would nationalise Alitalia, its ailing national airline.
Following in the footsteps of Italy, the Spanish government said it would suspend mortgage payments for workers affected by coronavirus.
India closed the Taj Mahal, its biggest tourist attraction, and offices providing non-essential services in Mumbai were told to keep half their staff at home.
Brazil reported its first death from the virus and closed tourist attractions such as Rio’s Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer statue.
This summer’s Euro 2020 football championships has been postponed for a year.
In the US, where confirmed cases of coronavirus have surpassed 4,000, Trump, who previously claimed the virus would soon disappear “like a miracle”, warned the outbreak could last until August as the White House unveiled tough new guidelines for the next 15 days.
After weeks of criticism that federal government inaction has created a vacuum, Trump urged Americans to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people and said they should avoid discretionary travel and not go to bars, restaurants, food courts or gyms. Older people should stay at home.
“We’ve made the decision to further toughen the guidelines and blunt the infection now,” Trump said. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said: “If everybody in America does what we ask for over the next 15 days, we will see a dramatic difference.”
The administration pursued a $850bn (£705bn) stimulus package to bolster the US economy, while authorities escalated social distancing measures. In six San Francisco Bay Area counties, residents were ordered to stay at home beginning from Tuesday for all but the most crucial outings.