(1 Mar 2020) VIRUS FEARS SHUT FRANCE'S FAMED LOUVRE MUSEUM The spreading coronavirus epidemic shut down France's Louvre Museum on Sunday (1 MARCH 2020), with workers who guard its famous trove of artworks fearful of being contaminated by the museum's flow of tourists from around the world.
Almost three-quarters of the Louvre's 9.6 million visitors last year came from abroad. The world's most popular museum welcomes tens of thousands of fans daily in Paris.
A short statement from the Louvre said a staff meeting about virus prevention efforts stopped the museum from opening as scheduled Sunday morning. Would-be visitors were still waiting on Sunday afternoon to get inside but the Louvre later announced it would not open at all on Sunday.
The shutdown followed a French government decision on Saturday to ban indoor public gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
The new measure exacerbated the fears of Louvre workers that they might be in danger of contamination, while Louvre staffers were also concerned about museum workers from northern Italy who had come to the museum to collect works by Leonardo da Vinci that were loaned for a major exhibition.
Italy, with over 1,100 coronavirus cases and 29 deaths, has been the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe.
Another meeting about virus prevention at the Louvre is scheduled for Monday between union representatives and the museum management.
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