​ Europe scambles to contain virus outbreak ​

Tourists are cancelling their holiday plans in Europe as fears grow over the number of coronavirus cases being reported across the continent.

About 820 cases of the virus have been confirmed across 23 countries in Europe so far, with the majority in Italy, Germany, France and Spain, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. A total of 19 people have died, including 17 in Italy and two in France.

The numbers pale in comparison to those reported in Asia, where more than 80,000 people have been infected and more than 2,800 have died.

But as fears grow over a potential global pandemic, travellers are cancelling their plans and leaving hotels in the lurch.

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SWITZERLAND CANCELS GATHERINGS

In Switzerland, all “public and private” events involving more than 1,000 people were banned by the government on Friday.

Officials said the ban would last until at least March 15 in a dramatic attempt to halt the spread of COVID-19 disease.

Several events are set to be affected, including the annual Geneva International Motor Show, which was due to take place from March 5-15 and draws tens of thousands of visitors every year.
 

“We aware that this measure will have a significant impact on public life,” Switzerland’s Interior Minister, Alain Berset, said.

“However, the move is expected to provide effective protection to people in Switzerland and to public health.

“It should prevent or delay the spread of the disease in Switzerland, thus reducing its momentum.”

Any events expecting fewer than 1,000 people “must carry out a risk assessment” in conjunction with authorities, the government said.

TOURISTS CANCEL ROMAN HOLIDAYS

Switzerland has reported 15 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but it borders northern Italy, which has seen the largest cluster of cases in Europe.

On Thursday, the number of infections in Italy reached 650 – a sharp increase from the previous official tallies showing 528 on Thursday and 400 on Wednesday.

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Officials said the steep rise was due to Wednesday’s figures not including all the data from the northern Lombardy region – the worst-hit part of the country.

But the outbreak has already begun to take a toll on the local tourism industry.
 

Hotel bookings in the northern city of Milan have plummeted to 20 per cent, compared with nearly 90 per cent normally at this time of year.

In Rome — far from the virus hot spots — more than 50 per cent of bookings have been cancelled until the end of March, hotel association Federalberghi said.

The mass cancellations prompted an outburst from Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Thursday.

“We’ve gone from an epidemic risk to an ‘info-demic’ of confirmed disinformation, which at this moment is hitting our flow of tourists, our business and our whole economic system,” he said.

“If schools are open, if our children are going to school, tourists and business people can come.”

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Mr Di Maio said Italy had more cases than other European countries because it was performing mass tests — more than 11,000 so far — which caught positive cases that did not, however, result in illness.

“Out of over 7,000 towns in Italy, just over a dozen are affected by this epidemic,” he said.

Italy was “reliable and transparent”, he insisted, adding it was being unfairly penalised by holiday-makers cancelling trips over fears they might catch the virus.

Some experts, however, say the country is doing too many tests and may be over-reporting the number of infections to the World Health Organisation.

All of those who have died so far in Italy were either elderly or had pre-existing medical conditions.

The government has so far stopped all movement in and out of 11 towns in two regions in the north — Lombardy and Veneto — in a bid to stop the contagion spreading.

EasyJet, a popular budget airline in Europe, warned on Friday flights may be cancelled due to a drop off in demand.

“Following the increased incidence of COVID-19 cases in Northern Italy, we have seen a significant softening of demand and load factors into and out of our Northern Italian bases,” it said in a statement.

“Further, we are also seeing some slower demand across our other European markets. As a result we will be making decisions to cancel some flights, particularly those into and out of Italy, while continuing to monitor the situation and adapting our flying programme to support demand.”

FIRST BRITISH MAN DIES

The cancellations came as Japan announced a British man had died of the coronavirus after being infected onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The unidentified man is the first Briton to die from the illness.
 

Another five Japanese nationals died on the boat, while more than 700 others on the vessel tested positive for the disease.

The Japanese health ministry confirmed the man’s nationality and death on Friday without giving further details.

All passengers have now left the ship, according to its operator.

-With wires