Germany to close borders with five countries from Monday

Germany will close its borders with France, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg from Monday morning due to the coronavirus crisis, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced at a press conference in Berlin on Sunday evening.

Temporary border controls will come into effect on 8 a.m. on Monday, with exceptions for goods traffic and commuters for work. Travelers without a valid reason are not allowed to travel in and out, Seehofer said.

The spread of the coronavirus is fast and aggressive, Seehofer noted, adding that the peak of the development has not been reached in Germany. The new measures are meant to break the chain of transmission, he said.

Data from Germany’s disease control agency showed that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country climbed to 4,838 as of Sunday afternoon, 1,043 more from the previous day. The death toll rose to 12.

For that matter, a total of 152,428 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease have been reported globally as of Sunday morning, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Fadela Chaib told Xinhua.