An empty art classroom is seen at a primary school on Vodickova street in Prague, the Czech Republic, March 11, 2020. (Photo by Dana Kesnerova/Xinhua)
TRAVEL BAN AND TWO-WEEK BINDING QUARANTINE
A growing number of European countries Wednesday introduced travel bans to and from a selection of virus-stricken countries, as well as compulsory self-quarantine of 14 days for those who had been there.
Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela on Wednesday announced a travel ban to and from Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland, starting from midnight.
Flights to and from these countries will be canceled except for those carrying medicine and food or those repatriating people residing in Malta.
Anyone who has traveled to these countries -- plus those arriving from Italy -- in the past 14 days will have to spend 14 days in obligatory quarantine enforced by police with spot checks at different times. Violators will face a fine of 1,000 euros (1,130 U.S. dollars).
BiH introduced an entry ban to all visitors coming from Italy, South Korea, Iran, and the city of Wuhan and Hubei Province of China, starting Wednesday, BiH Border Police (BP) officials said.
All BiH citizens returning from these areas, and all visitors from Germany, Spain, and France will go in a mandatory self-isolation of 14 days.
Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama announced similar measures on Wednesday. Police and military forces will set up roadblocks on the streets of the capital to check all cars, a move to identify anyone who has returned from Italy or Greece in the last 14 days.
Anyone who breaks the self-quarantine of 14 days -- a preventive measure already announced on Monday -- will get a fine of 5,000 euros (around 5,655 U.S. dollars) and will not be allowed to travel abroad without paying the fine.
The Spanish government said on Wednesday that it will ban all flights between Spain and Italy for two weeks.
In other developments, four main Vienna-based United Nations organizations have suspended, in principle, meetings and events with more than 100 participants in the Vienna International Centre (VIC), the building complex hosting the UN Office at Vienna, according to a press release of the UN Information Service (UNIS).
