IMF hit by coronavirus diagnosis
The International Monetary Fund has advised all staff at its Washington, DC headquarters to work from home until further notice after an employee was diagnosed with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, a spokesman has said.
The fund said it also has suspended all mission travel to European countries designated as Level 3 community spread areas by the Centers for Disease Control, but it “remains fully operational and stands ready to serve its members.”
Other countries to introduce stringent measures include Cyprus, Bosnia and Uzbekistan.
Cyprus is banning entry to non-residents for 15 days, its president Nicos Anastasiades has announced. From Sunday, only Cypriots, legal residents, diplomats, registered students and specific authorised people will be admitted.
Anastasiades asked Cypriots abroad not to travel back to Cyprus unnecessarily and said all private and public educational institutions will remain closed until 10 April.
Anastasiades said restrictions at crossing points on the divided island’s ceasefire line would remain in place, asking Cypriots to cross only for “necessary trips”.
Bosnia’s authorities have agreed to require two weeks of isolation starting Monday for all its nationals arriving in the country from abroad. The move is likely to discourage members of the large Bosnian diaspora from visiting during forthcoming Easter holidays.
And Uzbekistan has suspended all flights to and from France, Spain, and Britain, as well as barring citizens of six countries –including Iran and Italy – from entering the country.
In addition to Italian and Iranian nationals, Uzbekistan has barred French, Spanish, South Korean and Chinese citizens from entering. The Central Asian country, which had already suspended flights to China, South Korea and Iran, has yet to report any cases of the virus.
Guardian
