Vatican closes Italy's catacombs due to coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: A view of the cubicle "Dei fornai" inside Rome's oldest underground burial networks, Domitilla Catacombs, Italy, May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican has closed all of Italy's ancient catacombs normally open to the public because of the country's coronavirus outbreak.

Vatican official Monsignor Pasquale Iacobone said the decision was taken to protect guides who work in the restricted underground spaces as well as visitors.