Schengen crisis: Macron urges EU to tighten border controls in coronavirus battle

Mr Macron has proposed the enhanced border checks as the virus continues to spread across the globe.

The news comes as the French leader also closed all schools to deal with the outbreak.

France currently has 2,876 cases of the coronavirus.

61 people are also reported to have died in the country.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump imposed significant travel restrictions on European flights to America.

He stated no country in the Schengen Agreement – the areas without passport checks and borders – would be allowed to send flights to America, to stop the virus spreading.

Last night, the French president said the virus “had no borders or nationalities”. 

He insisted there was no need to close French borders unless the EU agreed to the measure. 

A similar approach was adopted by Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach of Ireland, in his plans to tackle the pandemic. 

France has banned gatherings of more than 100 people, however will still maintain the local elections scheduled to take place this weekend.

However, many have questioned the move as prioritising politics over health, with May’s local election in neighbouring England to be rescheduled until next year. 

The news comes as Europe has now been classified as the centre of the outbreak.

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The World Health Organisation announced Europe now has more cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, except for China. 

A WHO official said: “If you need to be right before you move on the virus, you will never win.

“Perfection is the enemy of the good. Speed trumps perfection.”

President Donald Trump of the United States recently announced he would be banning all flights from countries in the Schengen Agreement to stop the virus from spreading.

He lashed out at European countries for allegedly not taking sufficient enough measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, however, were exempt from the measures. 

US citizens are also exempt from the measure.

However, the European Union hit back at the decision, stating the decision was made “unilaterally and without consultation”. 

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