Euobserver.com

Europe has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China, the World Health Organization said late Friday. "More cases are now being reported everyday than were reported in China at the height of its epidemic", Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO secretary-general said, adding: "Our message to countries continues to be: you must take a comprehensive approach."

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned countries not to unilaterally close borders, saying "I am convinced that the EU can withstand this shock."

The G7 leaders of the United States, Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom will hold an extraordinary summit by videoconference on Monday amid the coronavirus outbreak, French president Emmanuel Macron said. "We will coordinate research efforts on a vaccine and treatments, and work on an economic and financial response," he tweeted.

The UK's local and mayoral elections, scheduled for May, have been postponed for 12 months over the coronavirus outbreak, the government announced on Friday. The polls, including for London mayor, had been scheduled for 7 May. The decision came after advice from the independent Electoral Commission that there was a "growing risk" voters would not be able to full participate.

The European Commission on Friday said health checks imposed by EU states inside the passport-free Schengen zone won't be classified as a border control. "If they introduce health checks, it is not seen as an internal border control," said home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson. Anyone entering the EU from another country at the external border and showing symptoms of the virus can be denied entry, she added.

"China and Russia have started an information war with the West ... In the time of a real plague let us be immune to the virus of a lie," Donald Tusk, a senior EU politician who was recently EU Council president, has said. The Chinese and Russian propaganda lines were "the virus has come from the USA" and "the EU is doing nothing", Tusk warned on Twitter.

The EU and eurozone will enter a recession this year, and its growth projection could go"considerably below zero" due to the coronavirus, the EU commission warned. Maarten Verwey, director general for economic and financial affairs said that "normally, we can expect normally to bounce back" in 2021. The official said member states' quick and bold measures will be crucial in not letting the shock turn into a long-term crisis.

The Czech Republic on Friday introduced an unprecedented travel ban in a fight against the coronavirus. Czechs and foreigners with permanent or long-term residency in the Czech Republic will not be allowed to leave the country, beginning on 16 March. Foreigners will not be able to enter the country for the next 30 days. People working abroad (within 50km of the Czech border) will be able to cross.

Romanian interim prime minister Ludovic Orban will quarantine himself after coming into contact with one of his party's senators who was later confirmed to have the coronavirus, he said Friday. Orban, his cabinet and Liberal Party leaders will enter self-quarantine and testing was underway, he said. As of Friday afternoon, Romania recorded 73 confirmed cases of the virus, with no fatalities.

The travel ban is proving tricky as Italy is home to over 1.3 million Romania migrants, who, mostly, are expected to come home for the Easter holiday next month.

The Netherlands says it will not take from Greece any unaccompanied children and teenagers seeking asylum and refuge. "We are not willing to take over children," said Dutch migration minister Ankie Broekers-Knol. Instead, she said the country was willing to send Greece experts to help with migrant registration and identification. Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and Portugal have pledged to take 1,600 minors from Greece.

Schools, cafes, bars, and restaurants in Belgium, the home of EU and Nato institutions, were to close due to coronavirus the Belgian prime minister, Sophie Wilmès, said Thursday. All cultural events were also cancelled until further notice. Most shops would remain open on weekdays only, but food shops and pharmacies would stay open all week. Public transport would continue to run, but people were advised to stay home where possible.

Greece ought to let people apply for asylum and the European Commission would "like to know more about" reports Greece had operated a 'black' detention site where would-be applicants were mistreated, Ylva Johansson, a Swedish EU commissioner said in Athens on Thursday. "Individuals in the European Union have the right to apply for asylum. This is in the treaty, this is in international law. This we can't suspend," Johansson said.

Shares in leading airlines tumbled by over 10 percent Thursday, aggravated by a US travel ban on the EU, prompting the industry's world body, The International Air Transport Association (IATA), to call for help. "Without a lifeline from governments we'll have a sectoral financial crisis piled on top of the public health emergency," IATA director-general Alexandre de Juniac said. Transatlantic routes account for 20-30 percent of large European operators' revenue.

EU states should keep borders open where possible and not give in to coronavirus "nationalism", French president Emmanuel Macron has said.

US president Donald Trump hit the EU economy with an unexpected travel ban, while markets went into a freefall after disappointment with the European Central Bank's measures to offset the coronavirus fallout.

Member states are taking varying courses of action to fight the spread of coronavirus, despite efforts by the European Commission to coordinate an EU response.

Some 5,000 people stuck on the Greek islands will each be offered €2,000 to go home. The scheme, which will take several weeks before it is officially launched, will be valid for one month.

State of emergency laws, some in breach of the constitution, were tabled in the Danish parliament in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The European Commission told all non-essential staff to work from home as of 16 March given the Covid-19 pandemic. "Colleagues who ensure critical functions will continue to be present at work, working in shifts," it said. All group visits have also been suspended.