BERLIN, October 30. /TASS/. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned against closing borders within member states of the European Union amid the continuous global spread of the novel coronavirus, Steffen Seibert, the German government spokesperson, said.
"It is especially important for Germany as a country in the middle of Europe that there is functioning economic circulation," Seibert was quoted by the DPA as saying after the summit meeting of the European Union’s leaders and heads of governments.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in particular: "I think we have all learnt the lessons."
"It took very little time to understand that this is hampering the single market, the flow of goods," Ursula von der Leyen said. "It did not stop the spread of the virus."
Global coronavirus crisis
In late December 2019, Chinese officials informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.
On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 45,312,680 people have been infected worldwide and more than 1,185,730 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 32,985,500 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.