Coronavirus: Ski resorts across Europe have shut down more than a month early as countries attempted to halt the spread.

Spain, France, Italy, Andorra, Norway, Austria and Switzerland have all closed their ski resorts this week as governments placed a limit on crowds and closed public places to stop the spread of the virus.

France was only given a few hours to shut its resorts down as the government closed anything “non-essential” to the French way of life.

French mountains officially closed at midnight on Saturday after just four hours notice from the government  and just two weeks before most British schools go on their Easter holidays.

As well as disrupting holidays for skiers across Europe, seasonal staff are now out of a job more than a month before the European ski season was due to shut down at the end of April, and the beginning of May for some.

Yesterday, resorts and tourist boards had reassured visitors they would stay open until the end of the season, however, this is now not the case.