Germany's most populous state to shut schools - n-tv

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous, will close its schools from Wednesday, broadcaster n-tv reported on Friday.

The state, whose population of 18 million is larger than that of several neighbouring countries, is also the one most severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak, with 1,264 cases in total according to the state government. Other states on Friday also announced their decision to close schools, including Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Saarland and Berlin.