'We are at war': French president Emmanuel Macron announces curbs to combat coronavirus, introduces fines to prohibit non-essential travel

‘From tomorrow at noon and for at least 15 days, our trips will be greatly reduced,’ Macron said in a televised address. French President Emmanuel Macron said that starting on Tuesday, people would be allowed to leave the place they live only for necessary activities such as shopping for food, going to work or taking a walk. British citizens would not be included in the ban, even though the country officially withdrew from the EU on 31 January “Essential staff such as doctors, nurses, care workers, researchers and experts that help address the coronavirus should continue to be allowed in the EU,” von der Leyen said. Asked whether she thinks Europe will return to having its passport-free travel area once the pandemic subsides, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hoped so and noted that so far “coordination didn’t work well everywhere the way one would have hoped.” Merkel added that public health strategies in the EU should guarantee goods flow freely and ensure that Europeans can continue making cross-border commutes for work. The health ministry’s top infectious diseases official, Sotiris Tsiodras, noted that many young people were returning “from countries where there is a large spread of the virus, such as the United Kingdom, whose public health strategy is to allow the virus to spread.” Separately Monday, the Russian government announced that it has decided to bar entry to all foreigners starting Wednesday and until 1 May.