"The Grand Canyon National Park announced in a press release on Wednesday that it would close to the public after receiving a request to do so from Coconino County health officials.

The park would close immediately until further notice, the press release said. The closure follows an announcement earlier this week that a Delaware North employee is the Grand Canyon South Rim's first identified case of the new coronavirus.

"The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service will continue to follow the guidance of state and local health officials in making determinations about our operations," department Secretary David Bernhardt said in the press release. "As soon as we received the letter from the Health and Human Services Director and Chief Health Officer for Coconino County recommending the closure of Grand Canyon National Park, we closed the park.""

Chelsea Curtis reports for the Arizona Republic April 1, 2020. [2]