They will begin operations under strict new guidelines to ensure the safety of visitors and staff from the spread of the coronavirus.

The Department of Cultural and Tourism - Abu Dhabi announced that it will allow the opening cultural sites and museums that have been shut since March due to the pandemic. It has also issued strict health and safety guidelines to be followed and is undertaking various precautionary measures ahead of allowing access to members of the public.

The sites will be required to operate at 40% of their capacity to allow the enforcement of social distancing rules, crowd control measures and various safety regulations for employees and visitors. Measures must be taken for visitors to maintain at least two metres of distance enforced through clear demarcations. There will be thermal cameras installed at the entrance and all staff and visitors will go through mandated thermal screening. Previously infected staff will need medical clearance to return to work.

Comprehensive risk assessments will be conducted at these sites before reopening, with a compliance monitoring system put in place. According to the size and function of each of these sites, this will include routine sterilisation of the space, glass partitions placed wherever possible and the total removal of all touch screens. Printed guides will be replaced with digital guides. All workshops and classes will remain suspended as before.

In a statement released to the public, Saood Al Hosani, acting undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi expressed hope that art and culture will help people come together and heal, guiding them to recover from the fear and isolation of the past few weeks. The idea, he said, was to get people to return to normal and enjoy these spaces again but with peace of mind that their safety and health are being taken care of.

WAM