UPDATE - Serbia declares state of emergency due to coronavirus

CHANGES DECK, ADDS REMARKS FROM PRIME MINISTER

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic declared a state of emergency Sunday to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.

"Dear citizens: Serbia is at war today against an invisible and dangerous opponent which our country must defeat. It is a fight for our parents, our elderly, but also the future of Serbia. Our parents have built everything we have in this country. They are under attack, and we have to do everything to help them.

"We are now in a state of emergency," Vucic said following a meeting of government and health officials in the capital Belgrade.

He announced that education at schools and colleges will be suspended and sports halls and gyms will be closed.

"We are not likely to open schools until the end of the year," he added.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said separately that the country's borders will be closed to all foreign nationals by Sunday night except for diplomats and those with residence permits.

"Our borders are open to our citizens returning to Serbia," Brnabic told state-run Radio-Television Serbia.

Serbia has 48 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 141 countries and territories.

The global death toll from the virus has surpassed 5,700, with more than 152,000 cases confirmed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

However, a vast majority of those who become infected recover from the illness.