- Title: Barcelona's Sagrada Familia landmark to close to tourists over coronavirus
- Date: 12th March 2020
- Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (MARCH 12, 2020) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF BARCELONA'S FAMOUS LANDMARK OF LA SAGRADA FAMILIA / TOURISTS OUTSIDE TOURISTS TAKING PICTURES WITH SAGRADA FAMILIA IN THE BACKGROUND PEOPLE GETTING INSIDE BASILICA TOURISTS POSING FOR PICTURE PEOPLE WEARING MASKS WALKING NEARBY SAGRADA FAMILIA'S ENTRANCE AND PEOPLE QUEUING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GOING INSIDE BASILICA (SOUNDBITE) (English) INGRID KONEMANN, 75, GERMAN TOURIST, SAYING: (holding Holy Family tickets) "We are very happy that we can look it today, tomorrow all is closed and after tomorrow we go home and it's nice that we can see it." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CATALINA, 67, CHILEAN TOURIST, SAYING: "I mean it was an incredible luck, because I came here from far away and what people told me there in Chile was 'you have to visit the Holy Family, you cannot come back from Barcelona without visiting it', so for me it was a blessing from God, right." (SOUNDBITE) (English) VOLKMAR AND SILVIA, GERMAN TOURISTS, SAYING: "We are very lucky to have the chance to see the Sagrada, because it's one of the most important sites in Barcelona and we have already seen the musical Gaudi and it's about this church so we were very interested in going in."
- Embargoed: 26th March 2020 18:43
- Keywords: Barcelona Sagrada Familia Spain coronavirus outbreak coronavirus
- Location: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- City: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C4QZE4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Barcelona's landmark Sagrada Familia basilica will stop receiving visitors and suspend its construction work starting from Friday (March 13) as a precautionary measure due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Sagrada Familia construction board said on Thursday (March 12).
The building by architect Antoni Gaudi, one of the Spanish city's main tourist attractions, will maintain its religious services, it added in a statement.
Tourists visiting Barcelona on Thursday said they felt lucky to have been able to see the basilica today, before it will closes its doors to the public.
Spain canceled top-flight soccer, shut schools across a swathe of the country and announced the prime minister will hold his meetings by video, after a minister tested positive for coronavirus and the death toll nearly doubled overnight.
Spain on Thursday announced measures to tackle the economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic, which the country's hoteliers described as a "tsunami" threatening the survival of their businesses.
Funds will be directed to central and regional health authorities, prices of drugs and medical equipment will be capped, and the tourism sector will also receive financial support.
(Production: Ramon Pastor, Luis Felipe Castilleja, Miguel Gutierrez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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