The head of the European Commission proposed Monday that member states ban non-essential travel into the bloc — even as more EU capitals close their borders to slow the coronavirus epidemic, AFP reports.

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will propose on Tuesday to the leaders of the Schengen border-free zone that they restrict travel across the bloc's external borders — as the United States has done.

Non-Schengen EU members will be invited to apply the measures, as will former member Britain, and British travellers will not be banned during the post-Brexit transition until the end of the year.

“The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” von der Leyen said, after talks with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, who is to host a video-summit with EU leaders on Tuesday.