© Rob Schumacher/The Republic A tourist wears an N-95 mask at Mather Point at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona on March 18, 2020.

Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva is calling on the National Park Service to close the Grand Canyon to visitors immediately because of concerns of spreading the coronavirus. The tourist destination has also seen its first case of the coronavirus in a hospitality worker.

On Friday, the Democratic Arizona congressman said the park agency has blocked requests from him, the Navajo Nation, Coconino County officials and the park's chief.

Grijalva is the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which has oversight of the National Park Service.

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The agency could not be immediately reached for comment. Its website noted a Friday afternoon update that said: "Precautions are being taken due to the novel (new) coronavirus."

It was unclear what the new precautions were.

The worker who tested positive for COVID-19 lived at a dorm within the park and worked at one of the lodges, said Glen White, a spokesman for park concessionaire Delaware North.

The man worked only one day during the past three weeks, White said, but at a time before guest services were suspended at Yavapai Lodge. The lodge and the dorm were being cleaned Tuesday, and any employees who came into contact with the man were offered temporary housing elsewhere, White said.

The man has been in isolation for several days.

Seven employees have tested positive for COVID-19 across the National Park Service, the agency said. It is not releasing the names of the parks to protect the employees’ privacy.

Grijalva said federal parks continue to attract "hundreds" of people, running afoul of official guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force to limit gatherings to fewer than 10 people.

“It's not something we can mandate. But my preference is always just closing," Grijalva told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.

He added: "It's a public issue as well. The concession is closed. There's no amenities at the park and no guided tours. Nothing's going on. At some point, you know, in deference to the health of the people that work there and the public itself ... it just becomes something where you're asking the staff to do too much."

Grijalva called on the Park Service to prevent large gatherings anywhere in the park, despite the administration’s "desire to maintain a sense of normalcy."

"It’s time for a more serious federal response," he said. "Grand Canyon National Park is a federal facility and federal guidelines need to be enforced, whether it makes some government officials uncomfortable or not."

Felicia Fonseca of the Associated Press contributed reporting