Coronavirus: National Museum of the Royal Navy closes all sites in Portsmouth and Gosport

The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) has announced it will close all its sites from this evening – including those in Portsmouth and Gosport.

The decision comes as news of Portsmouth’s first casualty of the deadly Covid-19 virus was announced today.

The 59-year-old woman, who had underlying health conditions, died at Queen Alexandra Hospital yesterday, health officials confirmed.

Speaking of the museum closure, Professor Dominic Tweddle, the NMRN’s director general, said: ‘It is with a heavy heart we have decided to close all of the sites of The National Museum of the Royal Navy in response to the escalating Covid-19 situation.

‘All of our sites in Portsmouth, Gosport, Belfast, Yeovilton and Hartlepool will be closed from 5pm on March 18.

‘This is a difficult decision but we’ve done so with the wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors in mind.’

Attractions closed locally include: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, HMS M.33, Action Stations, The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth; The Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower both in Gosport.

Prof Tweddle continued: ‘There have been no diagnosed cases of the virus on site, however we felt that like our colleagues across the museum and heritage sector, closure of the sites was now the best decision to maintain the health and wellbeing of our staff, volunteers and visitors.

‘We are disappointed to have to delay welcoming visitors to the incredible range of exhibitions, events and heritage attractions which make up the national museum, but our care for them and our incredibly dedicated workforce continues.’

Bosses from the Mary Rose Museum, which shares Portsmouth Historic Dockyard with the NMRN, has already announced it will close while the crisis continues.

Latest figures revealed the coronavirus death toll in the UK has risen to 104 - up from 71 the day before.

A further 646 new case of the deadly disease were also diagnosed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total figure to 2,626.