In spite of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Friday ruled out EU-wide travel restrictions.

Ahead of a meeting of fellow ministers in Brussels, Spahn said a common approach was needed with cases COVID-19 virus now prevalent across the bloc

Read more: Follow the latest developments in our rolling coverage on coronavirus

"Given what we know about the virus situation at present, I still find any measure leading to restrictions on travel across borders to be inappropriate," Spahn said.

However, he added that EU member states faced a test in working out a way to halt the spread of COVID-19. "The virus is in Europe, the challenge is to slow it down and contain it."

After the meeting, Croatian Health Minister Vili Beros told reporters that health ministers prioritized "joint action" going ahead.

"We adopted resolutions to urge member states to take necessary measures to take action," he said.

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Medicines and protective gear

Other ministers arriving at the meeting said one focus would be how Europe can supply itself with more medicines and protective equipment.

"This is not something that will be solved tomorrow but we must start this discussion today so that we have a solution after tomorrow," Austria's Health Minister Rudolf Anschober told reporters.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), has predicted difficulties due to a lack of deliveries from China.

Read more: Coronavirus — The latest developments in Europe

DW's Brussels correspondent Teri Schultz said there was a definite sense of urgency among ministers, and a strong sense that they did not want people to panic. The emphasis, she said, was on greater communication.

"Information sharing is the chief priority here because we heard EU official say yesterday that there have been flaws in information sharing with one another what measures they are taking, how many cases they have and where these cases are concentrated."

Read more: Few Germans afraid of coronavirus

The approach to the spread of the virus has varied notably across the EU, with health being an issue for member states to deal with domestically.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled All quiet on the Wagnerian front An older audience packed in close quarters in a sweltering theater: for virus transmission, a horrific scenario. The Bayreuth Festival 2020 has been called off, for the first time in its 144-year history due to an epidemic. Rehearsals for the new production of the opera cycle "The Ring of the Nibelung" were to begin on April 1 - but now, the "Ring" can only premiere in 2022 at the earliest.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Berlin's major events A day after Berlin announced that performances in major state-owned venues were to be canceled until April 19, city authorities have banned all events with more than 1,000 participants as well. "The coronavirus continues to spread. In such a phase, public life must be restricted," Berlin's local Health Minister Dilek Kalayci said.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Madonna and other concerts Many major concerts have been canceled, including Madonna's last two dates of her "Madame X" tour in Paris. France has banned on Sunday public gatherings of more than 1,000 people. The Paris Opera has also canceled its performances.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled St. Patrick's Day in Ireland All Irish St. Patrick's Day parades, including Dublin's main celebration that draws around 500,000 revelers from all over the world each year, are canceled because of fears over the spread of COVID-19, state broadcaster RTE reported on Monday. Ireland's famous March 17 parades were also previously canceled in 2001 during an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Vatican museums With quarantine measures in place in northern Italy, soccer matches occurring without spectators, and Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte's order to close museums, theaters and cinemas, it should come as no surprise that the Vatican has closed the doors to its museums, including the Sistine Chapel (above), until probably April 3. In the Vatican itself, five people are currently in quarantine.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled South by Southwest (SXSW) This annual music, film and tech festival held in Austin, Texas, usually attracts more than 400,000 visitors. But less than a week before its March 12, 2020 start date, organizers decided to cancel in a bid to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus. There's a silver lining though: it may only be postponed and not canceled altogether.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Bollywood 'Oscars' The International Film Academy has announced that it would be postponing its awards ceremony, also known as Bollywood's Oscars, due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak. According to official numbers, India has been until now relatively unscathed by the epidemic. Actor Shah Rukh Khan (photo) was one the stars expected at the event planned for March 27; a new date has not been decided yet.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled 'No Time to Die' James Bond perhaps has a little more time on his hands than the title of the upcoming film in the franchise suggests: "No Time to Die" producers have decided to push back the release of the movie to November. Daniel Craig's last outing as 007 was initially planned for April. It's the first Hollywood blockbuster to shift its release schedule in reaction to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Venice Architecture Biennale The start of the world's most prestigious architecture biennale has also been delayed. Instead of opening in May, it will run from August 29 to November 29 — three months later than planned. The theme of the event takes on a new meaning amid current developments: "How do we live together?"

The Bayreuth Festival canceled London Book Fair Due to take place March 10-12, the book fair was canceled "with reluctance," said organizers, after several major publishers such as HarperCollins and Penguin Random House pulled out of the event to avoid exposing their staff to the virus. The London Book Fair usually draws more than 25,000 authors and book industry insiders.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Musikmesse Frankfurt Europe's biggest trade fair for the music industry also announced that it was postponing the event, which was set to celebrate its 40th anniversary on April 2-4. While it was deemed to be "the only responsible and right decision to take," the cancellation is bound to affect many small businesses in the music industry, said Christian Höppner, secretary general of the German Music Council.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Leipzig Book Fair Change of plans for book fans: The Leipzig Book Fair, scheduled to be held March 12-15, was canceled due to the spread of the new coronavirus, a spokesperson for the fair announced on March 3. The second-largest book fair in Germany expected to draw 2,500 exhibitors from 51 countries.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled ITB Travel Trade Show Berlin Preparations for the world's largest travel fair were already in full swing when the organizers canceled it at the last minute. Due to the ongoing virus threat, participants to the Berlin fair had to prove they had not been to one of the defined risk areas. With 170,000 visitors from all over the world, this proved to be an impossible task and the fair couldn't open on March 4 as planned.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Milan Design Week Each April, thousands of design professionals, artists and companies visit Milan to check out the latest in furniture and interior design. This year, however, organizers have announced it will be moved to June due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Milan is the capital of the Lombardy region, which has seen the lion's share of Italian coronivirus cases. Some airlines have even suspended their flights.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled La Scala opera house There is perhaps no venue more symbolic of Italy's rich operatic tradition than the La Scala opera house in Milan. Now, its seats will remain empty until March 8. Italy's Prime Minister called for the suspension of cultural events and the venue is sticking to the rules. At the time of writing, Italy has more cases of the new coronavirus than any country outside of Asia.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled K-pop concerts The reigning K-pop boy band BTS does big business with each concert, but in the wake of the virus in South Korea, the group canceled four April dates at the Seoul Olympic Stadium, which seats 69,950 people. "It's impossible to predict the scale of the outbreak," said the group's management. On Tuesday, cases in South Korea reached 5,100 with the majority of infections in the city of Daegu.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled 'Mission Impossible' No, we aren't describing the task of containing the new coronavirus, but rather the new movie starring Tom Cruise which was supposed to have a three-week shoot in Venice. The film has been postponed, movie studio Paramount Pictures said Monday. Venice's cultural events have been hard hit by the outbreak. The final two days of lagoon city's annual Carnival festival were also canceled.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled Concerts in Switzerland On February 28, the Swiss government imposed a ban on events of more than 1,000 people until March 15, making it the first European country to do so as a preemptive measure to fight against the spread of the illness. As a result, many concerts and events were called off, including concerts by Carlos Santana (pictured) and Alice Cooper at the 15,000-person Hellenstadion in Zürich.

The Bayreuth Festival canceled The Hamburg Ballet The Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier canceled guest performances in Macau and Singapore due to the coronavirus outbreak. On the program were "The Lady of the Camellias," which tells the story of a famous Parisian courtesan and "Nijinsky." Whether the tour will take place at another point in time is still in the air. In spring 2021 the Hamburg Ballet plans to tour in Japan. Author: Sarah Hucal



Italy, for example, has closed schools while the idea has — for the present — been rejected in Germany.

Italy is the EU country most affected by the epidemic, but there are hundreds of cases in France, Germany and Spain.

The novel strain of coronavirus that emerged in China late last year has killed more than 3,300 people and infected over 100,000 in about 85 nations.

ed, rc/rt (dpa, AFP, Reuters)

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