Mongolia to shut schools until March 30 to curb virus outbreak

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - Mongolia will keep all its schools shut until March 30 in order to prevent the coronavirus from spreading in the country, the government said on Wednesday.

The flu-like virus has already killed more than 2,000 people in its southern neighbour, China.

Though Mongolia has yet to report any cases, it has sealed off the border and refused entry to anyone travelling through China. It still has 336 citizens in China seeking to return home, it said on Tuesday.

With the outbreak still not slowing down, Mongolia's educational institutes, from its kindergartens to its universities, will remain shut until the end of next month, the government said.

(Reporting by Anand Tumurtogoo, Writing by David Stanway; Editing by Himani Sarkar)