Around 120 schools were ordered to suspend classes , mostly in the regions of Brittany and Oise, north of Paris, which have been greatly affected by COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, explained the Minister of Education of France, Jean-Michel Blanquer.
It is likely that more schools will have to benefit from the temporary closure, the minister added in statements to the LCI television station, and confirmed that he ordered the suspension of all school trips . Blanquer warned that there was no need to rush with a general shutdown of the education system.
“It would make no sense to confine everyone in their homes, paralyze the country,” he said.
A handful of schools closed or were under quarantine in Germany and Poland , where for the moment no cases of COVID-19 were confirmed.
The closure of schools is a measure that has already been seen in other countries such as Japan and China.
On the other hand, Ukraine reported on Tuesday its first infection of the new virus in a man who had recently traveled to Italy.
Europe faces the same complications as Asia
While COVID-19 stretches across Europe , the continent faces the same complications recorded in Asia weeks ago, including a cruise with hundreds of passengers on board that is trapped in Norway.
In Haugesund, in southern Norway, a German cruise ship with 1,200 passengers on board was waiting for the results of the two-passenger virus tests, Norwegian television station NRK reported. Aida Aura must have left the port on Monday, but on Tuesday he was still docked at Haugesund with passengers on board.
Travelers from northern Italy, South Korea and Iran are banned from entering Singapore and cannot even stop there. And Saudi Arabia advised its citizens and residents to delay their trips to Germany and France for the spread of the coronavirus there.
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