As UK museums prepare to reopen, half of British public say they're not ready to visit yet

A survey reveals that 49 per cent of respondents aren’t comfortable with visiting museums despite safety measures in place

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  A woman wearing a face mask sits on a bench at the 'Love, Desire, Death' exhibition during preparations for opening at the National Gallery London on Saturday, July 4. Pubs, restaurants, places of worship, hairdressers and other businesses are reopening their doors across the UK after more than three months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. EPA

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  A member of security staff outside the National Gallery during preparations for reopening at the National Gallery London. A survey by Ipsos Mori reveals that 49 per cent of the British public do not yet feel comfortable with visiting indoor museums and exhibitions. EPA

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  Due to capacity limitations and reduced hours, the National Gallery is expected to see visitor numbers drop to 3,000 per day from 19,000 per day during the summer. Reuters

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  A security guard wears a protective face shield as The National Gallery prepares to open its doors to the public, for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, in London. Reuters

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  Britain reopened places of worship, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers on Saturday, July 4. Museums are set to follow, with the National Gallery in London the first to reopen on July 8. EPA

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  A member of staff wearing a face shield stands next to 'River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants' by Aelbert Cuyp at the National Gallery in London. EPA

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  A 'maintain physical distancing' sign seen on a table at the National Gallery as it prepares to reopen to the public this week. EPA

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  A member of staff wearing a face mask stands next to 'The Ambassadors' by Hans Holbein the Younger at the National Gallery, London. EPA

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  Reminders to 'maintain physical distancing' at the National Gallery in London, which is set to reopen this week. A recent survey states that only 34 per cent of Brits are comfortable with visiting museums again. EPA

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  Reminders to 'maintain physical distancing' at the National Gallery in London, which is set to reopen this week. EPA

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  A woman wearing a face mask looks at paintings during preparations for opening at the National Gallery. EPA

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  A visitor wears a protective face mask as The National Gallery prepares to open its doors to the public on Wednesday, July 8. Reuters

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  Security guards wear protective face shields as The National Gallery prepares to open its doors to the public this week. Reuters

A number of major museums in the UK, including London’s National Gallery and the Tate’s galleries, are set to reopen this month. Other art spaces such as the Royal Academy in London, Barbican Art Gallery and Whitechapel Gallery are following suit.

On Saturday, July 4, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopened in England after three months of lockdown in what the country called “Super Saturday”.

The Tate group of galleries, comprising Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives, will reopen on Monday, July 27. The Victoria & Albert Museum plans to open its doors in August.

But a survey released by Ipsos Mori and reported by The Art Newspaper states that half of the British public are not ready to visit exhibitions just yet.

Conducted at the end of June, the survey reveals that 49 per cent of respondents said they were "not very comfortable" or "not at all comfortable" with visiting an indoor museum or exhibition even with restrictions in place. Only 34 per cent said they were "very comfortable" or "fairly comfortable".

The figures are actually a slight improvement on a prior survey in May, when only 17 per cent of respondents said they would feel comfortable attending cultural events.

In comparison, the Ipsos Mori survey from June reveals bars and restaurant fared worse in public sentiment, with 60 per cent saying they would not be comfortable going to these venues. The numbers are similar for use of public transport (59 per cent), going to indoor cinemas and theatres (59 per cent) and taking holidays abroad (57 per cent).

The reopening of museums in the UK will be led by the National Gallery, which is set to welcome visitors on Wednesday, July 8, with reduced opening hours and limited capacity. The museum has been shut since March 18. Attendance is expected to drop by about three quarters this summer, to roughly 3,000 people a day.