Louvre Museum in France Closes Due to Coronavirus Fears

The iconic Louvre Museum is temporarily closing due to coronavirus concerns.

The museum shut down on Sunday (March 1) for fear of the ongoing epidemic being spread within the highly congested site, according to AP.

“We are very worried because we have visitors from everywhere. The risk is very, very, very great,” said employee Andre Sacristin.

There are no known infections yet among the workers at the museum. A staff meeting about prevention efforts caused the museum to shut down that morning, despite visitors waiting to get inside throughout the day.

The government of France decided to ban indoor public gatherings of over 5,000 people, which worker Andre said increased the fear of Louvre workers due to the tens of thousands of visitors the museum hosts daily.

A meeting about virus prevention is scheduled for Monday (March 2) between union representatives and the museum management.

They were also reportedly given alcohol-based disinfectant, although they requested masks.

“That didn’t please us at all,” he said.

Many major attractions, festivals and concerts have been either postponed or canceled due to fears of spreading the disease. One massive summer event might also be canceled…