Although I am saddened to hear of the temporary closure of the reefs, I have to say that I have seen WAY too much coral kicking and touching by inexperienced (poor buoyancy control) divers on any reefs I've been on.....if the mentioned reefs get the kind of tourism that the article stated, maybe they could use a break. Also to be considered is the effect of sunscreen from the divers/snorkelers on the corals as well. I hardly think that at the rate coral grows that a couple of months is going to make much difference though. Perhaps a better idea would be to section off the reef and allow diving only on certain parts while the more seriously injured are allowed sufficient time to recover?
Also ....(and I'm sure Papa Bear will love this) maybe we should all try a little bit harder to cut back on our greenhouse emissions.

Chrispy