Germany will impose temporary controls on its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg on Monday to stop coronavirus spreading. Other EU states are also taking radical action, with Austria banning gatherings of more than five people from Monday. The Republic of Ireland is asking all pubs to shut until 29 March and schools in the Netherlands are to close. The moves follow strict measures taken by France and Spain on Saturday. In Italy, the number of deaths in a 24-hour period reached a new high, up by 368 since Saturday to reach a total of 1,809. Of those, 1,218 were recorded in the Lombardy region, which is home to the business hub of Milan. Spain recorded 97 more deaths and 2,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total death toll to 288 and overall number of cases to 7,753. France, with 4,469 confirmed cases and 91 deaths, is holding local elections, despite the shutting of cafes, restaurants and most shops. In Switzerland, the number of infections have leapt by 800 to reach 2,200 in just 24 hours. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that Europe was now the "epicentre" of the pandemic. WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to use aggressive measures, community mobilisation and social distancing to save lives.