New York. The Metropolitan Museum, the largest in New York, the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall and Broadway theaters closed their doors temporarily to prevent further infections from the coronavirus, the institutions reported Thursday.
The Metropolitan Museum, which receives some seven million visitors each year, will close all its facilities from this Friday until further notice, and will carry out a thorough cleaning of the premises.
“The Met’s priority is to protect and support our staff, volunteers and visitors, and we have already been taking several precautionary measures, with rigorous cleaning routines and in communication with authorities,” said museum president Daniel Weiss.
Although the museum has no confirmed cases of the virus, “we believe that we must do everything we can to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our community,” he added.
The Opera and Carnegie Hall will be closed from Thursday until at least March 31.
“The health authorities are urging to stay away from each other with greater emphasis, and it is not possible for us to continue performing functions because that puts the artists, the staff and the public at risk,” said the general manager of the Met Opera, Peter Gelb, in a statement.
New York City announced Wednesday for the first time in more than 200 years the postponement of its famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which honors Irish-born New Yorkers and brings together some two million people.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a ban on all gatherings of more than 500 people starting Thursday night. Most Broadway theaters have a capacity of about 1,000 attendees.
The Broadway League said in a statement that shows will be suspended until April 13. That will include works like Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Y To Kill a Mockingbird.
The decision is part of a series of extraordinary measures taken in the country’s largest city. About 328 people in New York have the disease, Cuomo said.
Cancellations or postponements of cultural and sporting events are multiplying in the world due to the advance of the pandemic.
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