BRUSSELS, March 18 — There are approximately 80,000 European Union nationals around the world waiting to return to the EU amid the coronavirus epidemic that has prompted EU leaders today to close Europe’s external borders for 30 days, the EU Commission said.

A Commission spokesman said the exact number of EU nationals waiting to return was difficult to estimate and appealed for them to make contact with their national consulates abroad to enable better estimates.

"From the member states, from what they have registered, the number we are working with now, an aggregated number, is approximately 80,000 outside the EU,” the spokesman told a regular news briefing. — Reuters