Wind Creek Bethlehem casino is voluntarily closing for two weeks “as a precautionary measure” amid concerns over the coronavirus.

The casino on the city’s Southside will close to the public at 6 a.m. Sunday, with plans to reopen at 6 a.m. March 29.

“To play our role to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and with a focus on the wellbeing of our employees and guests, Wind Creek Bethlehem will voluntarily close to the public,” according to the statement issued Saturday night. “While there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at the property, Wind Creek Bethlehem has decided to close as precautionary measure because the health of our community is most important.”

During the temporary closure, the casino has committed to paying salaried and tipped employees.

Pennsylvania has 47 people confirmed with the coronavirus as of Saturday afternoon, state officials announced.

Wind Creek joins five other Pennsylvania casinos that have decided to temporarily close.

Valley Forge Casino in Montgomery County closed Friday morning and Harrah’s Philadelphia in Delaware County closed Saturday morning. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration urged people to avoid non-essential travel in those two counties.

The Montgomery County restrictions took effect Friday -- the county now has 20 of Pennsylvania’s 47 coronavirus patients--followed by Delaware County’s guidance Saturday, and were expected to remain in place for two weeks.

Then, on Saturday, Wolf announced “aggressive mitigation” efforts to thwart the virus would extend to Bucks County.

Parx Casino in Bucks County announced Saturday it will also close for two weeks starting at 6 a.m. Sunday. Parx said it will also pay its employees during the closure.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia said it will voluntarily close, effective at midnight Sunday, for 14 days. And the Rivers casino in Pittsburgh also announced a 14-day closure effective at midnight Sunday, triblive.com reports.

While the Bethlehem casino is closed, the property will undergo a deep cleaning.

That is after the casino began enhanced cleaning and sanitizing procedures, including a 24/7 onsite team to clean and sanitize the casino, its adjoining hotel, the restaurants and other public areas; more frequent disinfecting of areas including entrance and exit doors, gaming machines and elevator buttons; and more hand sanitizer dispensing stations throughout the casino floor and property.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If there’s anything about this story that needs attention, please email her. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.