The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced Friday it will close all 56 Tennessee state parks and state-owned state natural areas starting Saturday.

Parks will be closed to the public through April 14 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The move is a complete closure of facilities and access to all Tennessee State Parks and Designated State Natural Areas.

“We decided to close the parks in support of Gov. Lee’s Executive Order 23,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers said. “The health and safety of Tennessee citizens is all of our top priority right now.”

Tennessee State Parks officials said they will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, visit tnstateparks.com.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.