Six European health ministers rule out border closure over COVID-19

Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros said in Rome on Tuesday after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Austria and Italy, that travel advisories would be standardised in the aftermath of the outbreak of COVID-19 in some regions, however, shutting down the borders was ruled out.

The meeting's host, Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza and his colleagues from the five countries agreed on joint measures to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus.

They agreed to standardise travel advisories on trips to the regions hit by this infectious disease and exchange information on measures being taken on a regular basis.

As for the cancellation of big sports and cultural events, the ministers agreed that every individual case would be discussed separately taking into consideration the epidemiological situation and assessments of each country concerned.

Croatia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, proposes that "meetings should be organised on a regular basis until the end of this situation", said Beros.

The proposal was welcomed by the ministers and the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakidou,who also participated in the meeting.

Text: Hina

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