The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has announced that it will close indefinitely from tomorrow in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus in the city.
The art museum will shutter its main building on Fifth Avenue, as well as its Met Breuer and Met Cloisters locations, on Friday 13 March.
The museum's closure comes in response to outbreaks of COVID-19 coronavirus in New York City, which so far has 62 confirmed cases.
"The Met's priority is to protect and support our staff, volunteers, and visitors," said Daniel Weiss, the Met?s president and chief executive in a statement.
The Met to "undertake a thorough cleaning"
The Met, which revealed the news today, said in a statement that it intends to "undertake a thorough cleaning" of the museum buildings. It added that the closures are expected to last for several weeks. According to a report by The New York Times, The Met had two members of staff who showed symptoms of the virus, although neither have been confirmed.

"While we don't have any confirmed cases connected to the museum, we believe that we must do all that we can to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our community, which at this time calls for us to minimise gatherings while maintaining the cleanest environment possible," Weiss said.
Guggenheim and MoMA remain open
The Met's main location on Fifth Avenue, which just opened its British Galleries redesigned by local firm Roman and Williams, is joined by two other...