Bethlehem's storied Nativity Church closes amid virus fears

Palestinian officials on Thursday closed the storied Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem indefinitely over fears of the new coronavirus, weeks ahead of the busy Easter holiday season.

The announcement by the Palestinian tourism ministry threatened to devastate the vital tourism industry in the town where Jesus is believed to have been born. The spread of the virus across the Middle East has already disrupted worship at other major holy sites.

Iran, the epicenter of the virus in the region, meanwhile said it would set up checkpoints to limit travel between major cities and urged citizens to reduce their use of paper money to help slow the outbreak, which has killed at least 107 people in the country.

The Church of the Nativity was closed after suspicions that four Palestinians had caught the virus, prompting a flurry of measures that included banning all tourists from the Israeli-occupied West Bank for an unspecified amount of time and shutting down other places of worship in Bethlehem for two weeks.

The Palestinian health ministry later said a total of seven Palestinians from Bethlehem have tested positive for the virus, the first cases reported in the Palestinian territories. It said the seven worked at the same hotel.

Built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born in a manger, the Church of the Nativity is one of several prominent tourist and holy sites to shut their doors over concerns about the virus, which has infected tens of thousands of people and killed more than 3,000 globally.

Just before 4 p.m., a bearded clergyman walked outside and locked the church's wooden door with a large key. Just a few foreign tourists milled about outside.

Artur Joba, a Polish tourist visiting with his girlfriend, said he had decided to cut his stay in Bethlehem short and would head to nearby Jerusalem on Friday.

We decided to leave," he said. I'm going back to my hotel now to look for a hotel elsewhere.

Later, a team of workers dressed in white overalls arrived with jugs of cleaning materials and walked through a side entrance to disinfect the building. Tariq al-Ali, one of the workers, said it was the second time his team disinfected the church.

We have disinfected many institutions in the past week. We are under pressure, he said.

Saif Saboh, a Palestinian tour guide, said a number of groups had canceled visits in recent days. He said he has stopped shaking hands or getting too close to tourists and bathes each evening. I'm terrified," he said. It is serious and any tourist could be infected.

The virus has disrupted Muslim worship across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia banned pilgrimages to the holy city of Mecca, while Iran has canceled Friday's Islamic prayers in major cities. Iraq canceled Friday prayers in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, where a weekly sermon is delivered on behalf of the country's top Shiite cleric.

The Church of the Nativity receives some 10,000 tourists a day, according to Palestinian officials, and is expected to welcome tens of thousands of visitors during the Easter season.

Elias al-Arja, the head of the Bethlehem hotel owners union, angrily accused authorities of caving in to panic. This will cause huge damage to the economy. We have 3,000 workers in the tourist sector and they will all go home. Who is going to feed their families? he said.

Anton Suleiman, the mayor of Bethlehem, acknowledged the difficult situation. Even if this causes huge damage to the economy, public safety is the most important thing to us, he said.

In Iran, Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced his country's new restrictions at a televised press conference. He added that schools and universities will remain closed through Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 20.

We will strictly control comings and goings, he said.

Ali Darvishpour, deputy governor of Alborz province, said except for medical centers all government offices, banks and institutions will be closed Saturday, the first day of Iran's work week, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. He urged people to stay home.

The U.S. official focused on Iran, Brian Hook, said Thursday the U.S. offered humanitarian assistance to Iran to help them deal with the outbreak, but "the regime rejected the offer."

Hook, speaking at a news conference in Paris, also said the U.S. has asked Iran to release American detainees "on medical furlough" over fears the coronavirus may be infesting the country's prisons. He said Washington was working through Switzerland and could not provide details. The U.S. and Iran have no diplomatic relations.

A news website affiliated with state TV said Mohammad Sadr, a member of Iran's expediency Council, who is also senior adviser to the country's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has been infected with the new coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a member of Iran's Expediency Council, an administrative assembly appointed by the Supreme Leader, died after falling ill with the new virus.

More than 3,740 cases have been confirmed across the Middle East. Iran and Italy have the world's highest death tolls outside of China.

Israeli officials said they were working closely with their Palestinian counterparts to contain the virus. COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian matters, said it had delivered 250 test kits to the Palestinians and was coordinating joint training sessions for Israeli and Palestinian medical workers.

For the time being, other major places of worship in the Holy Land remained open. Israeli officials said there were no special precautions at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, though hand sanitizing stations were placed at the site.

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz encouraged more visits. In this time of distress, there is nothing more appropriate than coming to pray at the Western Wall," he said.

The nearby Al Aqsa mosque compound was expected to welcome 50,000 worshipers for Friday prayers. The Islamic Waqf, which administers the site, encouraged the faithful to ensure good personal hygiene.

Israel, which has 16 confirmed virus cases, has taken strict measures in a bid to stave off an outbreak, including banning the entry of visitors from some 10 countries.

On Thursday, German airline Lufthansa said it and its Austrian and Swiss subsidiaries were canceling flights to and from Israel for three weeks starting Sunday because of Israeli restrictions on incoming tourists. With many tourists to the West Bank flying in through Israel's international airport, the Palestinians will also be affected.

The virus has started to shake Israel's tourism industry as well. Israeli airline El Al, which has canceled dozens of flights to countries with outbreaks, announced Wednesday that it was laying off 1,000 employees.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a meeting on the economic impact of the virus. He said the government will set up an emergency cash flow assistance fund for businesses deemed essential for the functioning of the economy. He said similar measures may be taken for other businesses as the situation develops.

Earlier on Thursday, the United Arab Emirates warned citizens and foreign residents not to travel abroad amid the ongoing outbreak, a stark warning for a country home to two major long-haul airlines. Both airlines, Emirates and Etihad, have encouraged staff to take time off as international travel has dropped due to the virus.