DW, March 18, 2020

The EU has taken drastic action to attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, effectively shutting borders to non-citizens. Germany will stop taking in refugees, including thousands stranded at the Turkish-Greek border.

Germany put on hold a refugee pact with Turkey and will no longer accept refugees from any country, as the EU effectively shuts its borders to non-EU citizens to curb the spread of coronavirus, the interior ministry announced on Wednesday.

The so-called resettlement program between Turkey and Germany will be put on hold indefinitely. Thousands of migrants have been gathered at the Turkey-EU border since February when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the border was open.

The programs have been halted owing to “restrictions on travel” because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, a government spokesman told the Funke media group. The programs will resume “when possible.”

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