The COVID-19 Coronavirus has really affected Japan, much more than anticipated. Now, the latest anime company to be affected by the outbreak is Studio Ghibli itself. In particular, it looks like their own Ghibli Museum is closing Temporarily due to the virus’s spread.

The museum released a statement regarding the temporary closure, and it’s in conjunction to a ruling by the Tokyo Metropolotan Government.

On Friday, February 21st, the City of Mitaka announced that it will act in accordance to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s decision to cancel or postpone its major indoor events for the next three weeks in order to curb the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Accordingly, The Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, in mutual agreement with the City of Mitaka, shall close temporarily from Tuesday, February 25th to Tuesday, March 17th, 2020.

A full refund will be offered to those holding February and March ticket reservations. The refund procedures will be announced shortly.

We apologize to our visitors who have been looking forward to visiting the Museum. We shall continue to monitor the situation, so please check the museum website for further updates.

Among the other events and anime episodes either postponed or cancelled due to the outbreak include a Final Fantasy VII Remake event, Nippombashi Street Festa, the latest episode of A Certain Scientific Railgun T, and many more.

Source: Ghibli Museum official website