(Bloomberg) -- The Louvre museum in central Paris remained closed on Monday as staff declined to turn up because of worries over the coronavirus outbreak.
Employees at the world's most-visited museum stopped work on Sunday under rules designed to protect against serious health risks. The decision applies until further notice, CGT union representative Christian Galani said.
The move comes after French authorities banned any indoor gathering of more than 5,000 people in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.
The museum said in a statement, however, that it was taking all “necessary security measures,” that there was no need to close, and that situations where 5,000 people gathered at the same time didn't arise.
“The authorities, the culture minister, the health minister reiterated that closing the Louvre wasn't necessary,” it said, adding that the museum would follow instructions from government ministries.
France's culture ministry is organizing a meeting with various cultural institutions on Monday afternoon to discuss the situation.
The Louvre had 9.6 million visitors last year, down from 10.2 million in 2018 when around 8% came from China. The Louvre recently staged a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition that attracted a record 1.07 million people, with 9,783 visitors a day on average over 104 days.
Paris's Musee d'Orsay, famous for its impressionist and post-impressionist collections, was open on Sunday. Authorities at the museum, which is closed on Mondays, were due to hold a meeting later today to discuss the situation, a spokeswoman said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Angelina Rascouet in London at arascouet1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Geraldine Amiel at gamiel@bloomberg.net, ;Katerina Petroff at kpetroff@bloomberg.net, James Regan, Frank Connelly
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