HAMMOND, Ind. (The Times) — The Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond is closing until further notice for a deep cleaning and disinfecting to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

The South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority posted a notice on its website announcing the closure of the tourist information center located just off Interstates 80-94.

Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Speros Batistatos tells The (Northwest Indiana) Times the agency decided to close the center because of the growing number of people infected with the virus and the large number of people who pass through the center __ upwards of 400,000 people per year.

He says it doesn’t want the virus entering Northwest Indiana through the welcome center.