The Danish Prime Minister has put the country on lockdown with all borders closed, to fight the spread of coronavirus

The Prime Minister of Denmark says borders will temporarily close from tomorrow due to the coronavirus pandemic.

‘All tourists, all travel, all vacations, and all foreigners who cannot prove a creditable purpose of entering Denmark, will be denied entrance at the Danish border’ Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement this evening.

She said Danish citizens will still be allowed to enter the country. The closure would not apply to the transport of goods, including foods, medicine and industry supplies.

Denmark has already closed schools and universities and sent public sector employees home as it battles to contain coronavirus. The Danish Health Authority reported 164 new confirmed coronavirus cases at 10am on Friday morning, taking the total number known to be infected in Denmark to 785 – just a dozen fewer than in the UK.


Denmark has shut its borders as coronavrius rapidly spreads across Europe

Ms Frederiksen has taken some of the toughest measures in Europe in a bid to stop the spread of the disease. On Thursday, Denmark’s parliament unanimously passed an emergency coronavirus law which gives health authorities powers to force testing, treatment and quarantine with the backing of the police.



Shortly after her announcement, the Cypriot government said that only its citizens, along with other Europeans working on the island and people with special permits will be allowed into the country for a 15-day period beginning on Sunday. President Nicos Anastasiades announced the move in a televised address on Friday.Nationwide school closures have also been extended until 10 April.

Which countries in Europe have closed their borders? Various European countries have closed their borders or announced new restrictions to stop the spread of coronavirus. Here’s a summary of some of the measures introduced: Denmark : Bans all foreigners from entering without a valid purpose

: Bans all foreigners from entering without a valid purpose Poland : Foreigners banned from entering from Sunday

: Foreigners banned from entering from Sunday Czech Republic : Bans all foreigners from entering the country, except those with residence permits, and bans its own nationals from leaving

: Bans all foreigners from entering the country, except those with residence permits, and bans its own nationals from leaving Slovakia : Closes borders to all foreigners except Poles and those with a residence permit

: Closes borders to all foreigners except Poles and those with a residence permit Austria : Closes three land border crossings with Italy to all foreigners, except those with medical certificates issued within four days. However, no restriction on Austrian nationals

: Closes three land border crossings with Italy to all foreigners, except those with medical certificates issued within four days. However, no restriction on Austrian nationals Ukraine : Closes border crossings to foreigners (except diplomats) for two weeks

: Closes border crossings to foreigners (except diplomats) for two weeks Hungary : Closes land borders with Austria and Slovenia

: Closes land borders with Austria and Slovenia Slovenia : Closes six border crossings with Italy and suspends bus and train travel. Foreigners may only enter with a medical certificate issued within three days

: Closes six border crossings with Italy and suspends bus and train travel. Foreigners may only enter with a medical certificate issued within three days Serbia : Closes border crossings with Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia

: Closes border crossings with Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Croatia Romania : Closes borders with Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Moldova

: Closes borders with Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Moldova Albania: Closes borders with Montenegro, Kosovo and North Macedonia

The border controls come after the World Health Organisation warned that Europe was now the epicentre of coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan in China in December.

Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom said there are now more daily cases and deaths from coronavirus in Europe than there were at the height of China’s epidemic.

Italy recorded its highest rise in cases today as the country enters a fith day on lockdown (Picture: Mega)

France, Spain and Germany have over 2,000 cases while today, Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe, has recorded its highest daily toll yet.

There were 250 deaths recorded over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 1,266, with 17,660 infections overall. Spain, the worst-affected European country after Italy, reported a 50% jump in fatalities to 120 on Friday. Infections increased to 4,231 as the country declared a state of emergency, with holiday hotspots Majorca and Ibiza on lockdown.

Dr Adhanom urged all countries to immediately implement social distancing policies, as well as testing and contact tracing. Some countries have already begun implementing these measures, and the UK government has faced criticism for failing to follow suit.

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On Thursday, Ireland announced the closure of all schools and childcare facilities and other public spaces such as museums, while Scotland banned gatherings of more than 500 people.

The UK Government said it would not move to close schools yet as the evidence for its effectiveness is lacking, though this will be kept under review.

In Italy’s hardest-hit Lombardy region, hospitals are overwhelmed with both the sick and the dead. The country’s restaurants, cafes and retail shops closed in a lockdown on personal movement, though grocery stores, pharmacies and markets were allowed to operate.

France, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania Algeria and Slovakia shut down their schools, as did several states in Germany, including the capital, Berlin.

Boris Johnson has been criticised for being too slow to act against coronavirus (Picture: Getty)

Europe’s most successful soccer team, Real Madrid, put all its players into quarantine after one tested positive. The Czech government tightened border checks for some countries, and Slovakia closed its international airports and ground transport hubs.

Boris Johnson called coronavirus ‘the worst public health crisis for a generation’ as the country’s leading health and science experts warned we must all do our bit to help ease pressure on the NHS in the weeks and months to come. Announcing a move from the ‘containment’ phase into the ‘delay’ phase of the government’s four-step battle plan against the disease, the PM said anyone with symptoms, however mild, such as a continuous cough or high temperature, must now stay at home for seven days.



Greater social distancing measures and plans to close schools and encourage home working will come into place in the coming weeks, he said, insiting the government was following scientific advice. However he was criticised for not implementing them already, with some arguing his measures to tackle coronavirus don’t go far enough.

In a press conference at Downing Street, the PM said families will continue to ‘lose loved ones before their time’ as the outbreak worsens, prompting former health secretary Jeremy Hunt to call the new measures ‘concerning’. He has questioned the decision not to cancel large gatherings after the UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said Britain is around four weeks behind Italy in terms of the trajectory of the disease.

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Jeremy Hunt told the BBC’s Newsnight: ‘I think it is surprising and concerning that we’re not doing any of it at all when we have just four weeks before we get to the stage that Italy is at. ‘You would have thought that every single thing we do in that four weeks would be designed to slow the spread of people catching the virus.’ He added that he is ‘personally surprised that we’re still allowing external visits to care homes’.

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