Indoor portions of National Mall closed due to COVID-19

All indoor portions of the National Mall, including the Washington Monument, are closed due to COVID-19 precautions as of Saturday, the National Park Service (NPS) announced.

In an effort to combat further spread of the coronavirus, the Washington Monument, which has been closed since Jan. 11 over inauguration security concerns, will remain closed for the time being. The closure was scheduled to end on Jan. 24.

The Washington Monument was previously temporarily closed in December after Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who had given a tour of the monument, tested positive for COVID-19. 

In addition to the Washington Monument, other sites and attractions managed as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks are temporarily shut down, including the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site and the Old Post Office Tower tour.

“The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at National Mall and Memorial Parks is our number one priority,” the NPS said in a statement.

All monuments and memorials that are fully outdoors will remain open at this time.

United States Park Police will continue to patrol the areas, and public restrooms will still be available.

The NPS said it “will monitor public health conditions in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as the opening status of other nearby visitor attractions, and reopen the Washington Monument and other indoor park facilities as soon as it deems it is safe to do so.”