The International Council of Museums divulges guidelines for prevention of Covid-19.
The International Council of Museums Brazil (ICOM), a non-governmental organization dedicated to elaborating international policies for museums, has issued a handbook for reopening them considering the public’s and the employees’ safety with regard to the new coronavirus. With the relaxation of social distancing in Brazil before the end of the pandemic, the International Council of Museums has adopted a handbook to ensure the fulfillment of the sanitary safety protocols for the adequate reopening of museums, covering from the collaborators who work in offices, to the conservation and cleaning employees, to visitors’ control.
Firstly, each museum must establish the maximum number of visitors, and inform their public of this, as well as of the possible extension of opening hours – which may also define the entry of priority groups, such as the elderly. Each museum must also define the number of people in each display room, considering the size of the room – in order to keep a distance of 1.5 meters between individuals. Furthermore, the average time for a visit must be established, as well as the intervals between groups and separate entrance and exit doors.
The ICOM also recommends an online or telephone reservation system and, when possible, an electronic box office system to avoid queues at the entrance. The museum floors must be marked in strategic places to ensure safe distancing at reception and the entrances to rooms. Still with regard to the public’s entry, temperatures must be taken and access denied to people who present symptoms of the new coronavirus.
For sanitizing, museums must install appliances with hand disinfectants at strategic spots, as well as ensuring access to bathrooms (allowing people to wash their hands with soap and water and giving preference to disposable sanitary material). Appliances such as audioguides, earphones, etc, when offered, must be systematically disinfected after each use, as well as installations for the handicapped and educational appliances with control buttons. Inner doors must remain open whenever possible, or else be disinfected after each use.
Storage spaces, which need the presence of professionals, must not be used, thus avoiding the handling of the visitors’ personal items – except if the lockers are disinfected regularly after each time they are used. Guided visits and educational activities are still permitted, as long as the participants remain at a safe distance from each other, besides the definition of the size of the groups and regular intervals between visits. The opening of snackbars, shops and bookstores inside the museum complex must follow the specific national rules.
