Louvre museum closes over workers' coronavirus fears

Louvre museum closes over workers' coronavirus fears
Copyright AP
By Mark Armstrong with AP, AFP
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France's Louvre museum in Paris closed its doors to the public on Sunday as workers demanded more precautions against the spread of COVID-19

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Visitors were unable to enter Paris's iconic Louvre Museum on Sunday after it was closed over coronavirus fears.

The gates remained shut to all except staff, who held a meeting with management over COVID-19 according to a union representative.

France has recorded 130 coronavirus cases and two deaths.

On Saturday, the government announced several measures to try and curb the outbreak, including cancelling all gatherings of more than 5,000 people in confined spaces.

Workers are demanding stepped up protective measures, including the provision of hand sanitising gel and window barriers to separate cashiers from members of the public.

The Louvre had 9.6 million visitors in 2019.

Italian football league fixtures postponed

Neighbouring Italy, the epicentre of the outbreak in Europe, saw another jump in infections on Saturday taking its total to over 1600, with 29 deaths.

The outbreak forced the postponement of five matches in Italy's top-flight Serie A football league.

In Iran, state TV showed what appeared to be patients infected with COVID-19 being quarantined in the cities of Tehran and Qom.

National media also reported all flights to the city of Rasht had been suspended but did not give the reason. Iran's health ministry said the death toll from the virus was now 54 from 978 infections.

In Japan, the Tokyo marathon went ahead but due to fears over the spread of the virus the race was limited to just over 200 elite runners as opposed to the 38,000 that had been expected.

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