Coronavirus: Museum London reopens with special hours for senior citizens, immunocompromised people

After two months in lockdown, Museum London is reopening its doors to the public Thursday with a reduced schedule and COVID-19 safety precautions in place.

The museum closed its doors to the public on Boxing Day after the province implemented a stay-at-home order.

The region is currently in the red-control tier of the province’s colour-coded framework. Full details can be found on the province’s website or by viewing the full regulation itself.

It’s believed the region is on track to move to the orange or even yellow level next week.

The new schedule seeks to protect senior citizens and those who are immunocompromised by giving them an hour a day at the museums away from the general public.

The new museum hours are Thursday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. for senior citizens and immunocompromised people and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the general public. There will be no ticketed times.

Other health measures in place include making masks mandatory for all visitors over 12 and museum staff asking people for their name and emails for contact tracing.

The reopening comes just in time for Londoners to see the end of the Black Lives Matter London exhibit before it closes on Feb. 28.

The exhibit has been on display since August and features 117 protest signs from the Black Lives Matter rally in March that saw over 10,000 people attend.

Two new exhibits have also opened Thursday, ᐃᓅᓯᕗᑦ ᓄᓇᕗᒻᒥ: ᐃᓅᓯᕗᑦ ᓄᓇᒥ / Inuusivut Nunavummi: Our Lives on the Tundra and Under Cover: Quilts from the Collection.

The first exhibit explores the commercial development of Inuit art in communities across the Arctic and the second one features 25 quilts and artifacts about the stories quilts can tell, the museum website says.

More information on the reopening and all of the exhibits can be found on the musem’s website.