Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity ordered closed over coronavirus

A tourist wearing a mask as a preventive measure against the coronavirus visits the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was ordered closed and foreign tourists were banned from West Bank hotels on Thursday as health officials announced seven cases of coronavirus in the Palestinian territories.

The measures by the Palestinian Authority's tourism ministry were a particular blow to Bethlehem, where businesses depend largely on visitors to the church, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.