Taj Mahal: ‘Monument of love’ shuts down amid coronavirus fears

India’s iconic monument Taj Mahal has shut down to halt the spread of the coronavirus, officials say.

The culture ministry said tens of thousands visit the “monument of love” every day and it was “imperative to shut it down”.

The Taj Mahal is one of the world’s leading tourist attractions, and draws as many as 70,000 people every day.

India has 526 reported cases of Covid-19 and 27 related deaths. It has tested 6,000 people so far.

On Tuesday, the Indian government announced that all monuments and museums run by the Archaeological Survey of India across the country have also been shut to keep people safe.

Culture Minister Prahlad Patel said all the 143 monuments and museums would remain shut until 31 March and the decision would be reviewed after the shutdown period.

Four new cases were reported in India on Tuesday, but it’s unclear if they are all included in the official count, which now stands at 526.

One of them is a 60-year-old doctor in the southern state of Karnataka who treated a man who died from the coronavirus last week.