The National Portrait Gallery has become the latest major London gallery to announce closure due to the coronavirus outbreak.
It follows Tate Britain and Tate Modern, which both announced they would be shutting their doors this morning.
The National Portrait Gallery released a statement saying: “In line with UK government guidance, the National Portrait Gallery, London will temporarily close from Wednesday 18 March 2020 until further notice in order to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our visitors and staff.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation and act on the advice of the UK Government and Public Health England. In the meantime, we look forward to staying connected to our audiences online and hope to be able to welcome visitors back to the Gallery again soon.”
They added that customers who have booked a ticket for exhibitions or events will be contacted by gallery staff for refunds or exchanges.
The Natural History Museum, Serpentine Galleries, Hayward Gallery and Barbican are also on the list of museums and galleries to announce closure today. A regularly updated list is available here.
Other major galleries such as the National Gallery and Royal Academy have each cancelled exhibitions and events, but remain open at this time.
