France ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses, while Spain went a step further and banned people from leaving home except to go to work, get medical care or buy food. Cases also spiked in Germany and sources told AFP that the government planned to shut its borders with France, Switzerland and Austria on Monday. Spain and France are among the worst-hit countries in Europe although Italy, which imposed Europe's most draconian lockdown on its 60 million citizens last week, still dominates in terms of infections from Covid-19. A spike in deaths reported in Spain from 183 on Saturday to 288 on Sunday took the global toll to 6,036 from almost 160,000 infections, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources. Austria banned gatherings of more than five people on Sunday, telling citizens to stay in unless absolutely necessary.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 15, 2020 15:22 UTC