MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – El Salvador has banned visitors from Germany and France due to coronavirus, after previously barring visitors from Italy, South Korea and Iran, countries with the largest outbreaks outside China.
Salvadorans and diplomats arriving from the two countries may enter but must spend 30 days in quarantine, President Nayib Bukele said on Twitter late on Saturday.
France has the fifth-highest number of coronavirus cases outside China, while Germany ranks sixth.
El Salvador has no reported cases of coronavirus, even as other countries in the region begin grappling with the disease.
On Saturday, Mexico reported seven instances of coronavirus, up from six. Costa Rica said its number of cases rose to five from one, and includes an American couple.
He also called for stepping up checks on travelers arriving from any country that has coronavirus and for stricter sanitation measures.
“From here on out, a total cleaning of the airport and customs must be done every day,” he said.
(This story corrects ranking of France and Germany in number of coronavirus cases in paragraph 3)
Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sonya Hepinstall