Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi museums to reopen to visitors amid strict guidelines

Louvre Abu Dhabi is open with social distancing measures in place. Courtesy: Hufton + Crow

The capital’s museums and cultural places are to reopen under strict guidelines and approvals, Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi  has announced.

There will be a number of safety measures in place to ensure the safety of visitors and employees.

Each site will have a visitor capacity of 40 per cent.

There will be routine sterlisations of the facilities and floors will have clear demarcation so that guests can maintain a distance of two metres from other people.

Glass partitions will be placed wherever possible and all touch screens should be removed.

Everyone will have their temperature checked before entering the premises, and Covid-19 infected staff members will not be allowed to return to work unless they have a clearance from medics.

Authorities said that visitors should be given digital rather than printed guides to avoid passing on germs from one person to another.

The maximum time allowed for visitors has been limited to three hours.

“We believe that art and culture have the power to help people come together and heal,” said Saood Al Hosani, acting undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi.

“To enable this, and as per our mandate to provide support for the culture sector in Abu Dhabi, strict measures will be implemented at all our cultural sites and museums which will ensure that visitors will have a high degree of confidence that their health and safety will be of paramount importance when they visit, which means they can enjoy the sites with an enhanced peace of mind."

All workshops and classes will remain suspended until further notice.

To ensure facilities fully comply with the strict hygiene requirements, DCT will send inspectors to check and approve their reopening.

All museums and cultural sites in the emirate were closed from mid-March in a bid to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

But popular art and cultural institutions carried on with virtual visits during the past months.

For example, the Louvre Abu Dhabi offered videos, audio and images of art and archaeological pieces, as well as educational activities for children and also conducted tours for their patrons.

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A runner on Abu Dhabi Corniche. Victor Besa / The National

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