EU experts agree pushbacks at borders inappropriate to tackle virus

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU government experts have agreed that blocking cross-border movement within the bloc of people with coronavirus symptoms would be counter-productive and that quarantine was the preferred option, EU officials said on Thursday.

European states which are members of the open-border Schengen area have stepped up planning over measures to contain the coronavirus after the epidemic flared in the continent last week from hotspots in northern Italy, following its first emergence in China in December.