St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City a major pilgrimage site for the globes 1.3 billion Roman Catholics is temporarily turning away tourists to combat the spread of the new strain of coronavirus .

The world-famous basilica and its adjacent square will be closed to tourists and guided tour groups until at least April 3, the Vaticans official news service reported Tuesday.

Only those who would like to enter the basilica to pray will be allowed in, Reuters reported . On Tuesday, Italian police were closely monitoring people entering the square, Catholic News Service reported , only permitting people who had documents proving they had to enter for work reasons or for other exceptions allowed under the Italian governments recent decrees .

As of now, the restrictions are set to be lifted mere days before Holy Week, which starts this year with Palm Sunday on April 5.

The changes mean that the popes biweekly public appearances at the basilica, which generally draw thousands of Catholics and tourists, wont be taking place as usual.