Czech Republic halts South Korea, Italy flights over coronavirus

The Czech Republic will stop flights with South Korea and cities in northern Italy and will also host an international biathlon event this week without spectators due to coronavirus concerns, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Monday.

The stoppage of flights to and from the Italian cities of Milan, Venice and Bologna will last for two weeks and could be extended, Industry Minister Karel Havlicek said. The central European country reported its first confirmed cases of coronavirus on Sunday in three patients that had visited or lived in northern Italy.

One of the three patients was a teacher at the Czech Technical University in Prague who had attend a conference in Italy. It cancelled lessons on Monday after the man had been in contact with colleagues last week. Babis said the state security council, which met on Monday to debate precautions to stop the spread of the virus that has infected more than 80,000 around the world, would meet again on Wednesday to make a decision on a possible ban on large gatherings.

The council decided on Monday to hold a World Cup biathlon event in Nove Mesto without spectators. The event usually attracts tens of thousands from around Europe.