Austria bans gatherings of more than 5

Austria is to ban gatherings of more than five people from Monday, as efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus in Europe step up.

Romania is set to declare a state of emergency, and the Czech PM said he was likely to declare a quarantine for the whole country.

The moves follow strict measures taken by France and Spain on Saturday.

Spain recorded 97 more deaths and 2,000 new cases in the past 24 hours.

That brings the country's total death toll to 288 and overall number of cases to 7,753, the health ministry reports.

France, with 4,469 confirmed cases and 91 deaths, is holding local elections, despite the shutting of cafes, restaurants and most shops.

Italy, which has recorded 1,441 deaths and and 21,157 cases, began a nationwide lockdown on Monday.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia have already closed their borders._Agencies.


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