Germany to shut Austria, France, Switzerland borders over coronavirus

Germany is reportedly set to shut its borders with France, Switzerland, and Austria as the coronavirus continues to spread globally.

According to Bild, a German media outlet, Germany’s borders to the three countries will be shut as from 8 am on Monday, although the government is yet to officially announce the development.

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, and her interior minister were said to have agreed on the closure with the state premiers involved at a time when Germany’s coronavirus death toll had hit 11.

With the country having reported a total of 5,426 cases of the disease, it was said that free movement of goods will remain while commuters will be allowed to cross borders for work.

The closure, according to reports, is in a bid to contain the disease and prevent the fallout of panic bulk purchases by foreigners which was reportedly causing supply problems along the borders.

It had also come after Italy, which is Europe’s worst-hit country, and Spain had both taken similar measures amid nationwide lockdowns.

Donald Trump, US president, had also imposed a travel ban on 26 European countries, with the UK and Ireland set to be added to the list on Monday.

Since its outbreak in China in December, the virus has killed about 5,000 persons, with at least 138,000 infected across more than 100 countries.