Coronavirus latest: Germany turns back non-EU travelers at Frankfurt Airport

March 18, 2020

EU leaders have agreed to implement a 30-day entry ban
German immigration officials have begun denying entry to non-EU passengers at Frankfurt Airport
COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in all 50 US states
Australia has declared a “biosecurity” emergency and told its citizens “do not travel abroad

Read more: Germany turning people back at the airport: What you need to know

Updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)

10:16 European markets fell in early trading Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the global economy.

Frankfurt’s DAX fell 3.7%, the FTSE 100 in London dropped 4.3% and the CAC in Paris lost 3.4%.

09:58 Lothar Wieler, president of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI), warned that Germany could have 10 million COVID-19 cases in a few months if the containment measures ordered by the government are not followed.

“The epidemic is taking an exponential course,” Wieler said in Berlin on Wednesday, adding that people need to avoid social contact as the virus is mainly spread person-to-person.

According to the RKI, there are currently 8,200 COVID-19 cases in Germany, which is a rise of 1,000 cases in 24 hours. At least 12 people have died in Germany from a COVID-19 infection.

09:25 Traffic was backed up for more than 60 kilometers (36 miles) on the A4 highway at the German-Polish border Wednesday morning as border controls were introduced by Poland. German police in the border city of Görlitz in Saxony advised all travelers to avoid roads in the area.

09:15 German border officials began turning back non-EU citizens arriving at Frankfurt Airport Wednesday morning in accordance with an entry ban announced Tuesday evening.

Around 5,000 people on 100 flights will need to be checked by immigration officials at Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s DPA press agency reported. At least 130 non-EU passengers have been reportedly denied entry so far, and airlines have been asked to fly those denied entry back to their airport of origin.

Reza Ahmari, spokesman for the German Federal Police, told German broadcaster Hessische Rundfunk that immigration authorities expect that many passengers arriving Wednesday do not know yet that they will have to be turned back.

“It could be the case that there are 20 or 30 passengers on board a plane that will need to directly fly back on the same plane,” said Ahmari, adding that passengers denied entry will have access to a transit area with facilities.

Read more: German government to fly home tens of thousands of tourists

08:00 Russian authorities said schools nationwide will close on Monday. Russia currently has 114 COVID-19 cases, and Moscow is currently implementing containment measures including border closures and bans on public gatherings.

07:15 South African health officials said the number of COVID-19 cases has risen by 23 to 85. At least eight of the cases were “transmitted locally” said Health Minister Zwelini Mkhize.

06:50 Belgium will impose a lockdown to restrict the movement of people starting at noon Wednesday until at least April 5. The Belgian capital, Brussels, is the de-facto capital of the European Union.

Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes said people should only go out in emergencies, or to supermarkets, pharmacies or doctors. Any gatherings or meetings will be prohibited.

03:30 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) rejected a surprise request by Venezuela for an emergency $5 billion loan to fight the coronavirus outbreak. An IMF spokesperson said the request can’t be considered because there was “no clarity” among the IMF’s 189 member states on who it recognizes as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

03:00 The German Patient Protection Foundation said a plan needs to be implemented to better protect people who work in the care sector to ensure elderly care homes and mobility care services continue to operate. According to the foundation, the sector provides care and assistance to and estimated 3.4 million people that are especially susceptible to coronavirus.

02:30 The German government should motivate manufacturers to produce supplies needed to tackle coronavirus, Alice Weidel the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) parliamentary faction told the press agency DPA.

01:50 Human rights organization Pro Asyl called on Germany and other European countries to push forward with plans to take in refugee children currently living in overwhelmed Greek camps, despite the travel bans imposed by coronavirus.

01:40 The coronavirus death toll in the US has reached more than 100, according to John Hopkins University.

01:35 “I believe that we all underestimated the virus at the beginning, because we are not experts,” EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a broadcast of Bild Live. “All these measures that seemed drastic or draconian 14 days or three weeks ago — now we’ve understood that it needs to be this way.”

01:30 Mainland China reported 11 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, down from 13 on Monday. The country also reported 13 new confirmed cases of the COVID-19. Chinese health authorities said that 12 of these new infection cases were imported The virus originated in China but has spread around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that Europe is now at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

01:20 The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) will re-open on Wednesday after Philippine authorities exempted trading platforms from strict quarantine measures. The PSE had suspended trading operations on Tuesday, becoming the first stock exchange in the world to close down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

01:15 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tweeted that his second coronavirus test came back negative.

01:10 Many Parisians stepped onto their balconies late Tuesday evening to applaud healthcare workers who left their homes to help those infected with COVID-19. The country is on lockdown to stop the virus from spreading.

Spain and Italy — countries also under sweeping quarantine orders — showed their appreciation to healthcare workers in the same way just days before.

01:00 Brazilian security forces say that they have caught 586 prisoners who escaped from three jails in the Sao Paulo area on Monday. Around 800 prisoners failed to return to after they were told their day-release privileges were being revoked over fears that the prisoners might bring the virus back with them into prison.

00:40 US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is said to have warned Republican senators that failure to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package could lead to US unemployment as high as 20% and lasting economic damage, reported Reuters news agency.

00:30 Canada is the latest country announcing a new financial support package to help counter an economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canadian government is preparing around Can$25 billion ($18 billion, €16 billion) to help businesses and households.

00:20 Brazil’s government statistics agency IBGE is putting its 2020 census on hold for a year until 2021 in order to protect the health of census-takers and the households that they visit.

00:10 Here’s a summary of the latest global figures:

197,168 confirmed cases globally
7,905 global deaths
80,840 recovered
All 50 US states have confirmed cases of the virus. There are 6,421 confirmed cases in the US.

00:05 Follow yesterday’s coronavirus developments here: Germany implements non-EU travel ban

wmr, kmm/aw (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)

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