HANOI, March 13 (Reuters) – Vietnam will stop issuing tourist visas to citizens from Europe’s Schengen area and Britain starting from Sunday, amid concerns over the spreading coronavirus, state media reported on Friday.

The restriction will start from midday, March 15, following a proposal from the country’s prime minister, state-run newspaper Hanoimoi reported.

The British embassy in Hanoi updated its travel advice on a UK government website.

“From noon Vietnam time, March 15, all foreign nationals will be refused entry to Vietnam if in the previous 14 days they have been to the UK, or any Schengen country, even in transit,” read the statement on the website. “This restriction will be in place for 30 days.”

The Schengen area is a border control-free travel zone comprising 26 European countries.

Vietnam earlier halted visa-free travel for citizens of eight European countries.

Three weeks after Vietnam declared that all 16 of its coronavirus cases had recovered, the number of infected patients is on the rise after the authorities said a spate of new infections was traced to a flight from Britain.

Vietnam has confirmed 47 cases of the coronavirus. There have been no deaths in the country. (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Alex Richardson).

Source: Reuters