Museums are going through an unprecedented difficult time at the moment with the impact of Covid-19. The Essex MDO, Museums Essex, and SHARE Museums East are all available to support museums in Essex.
Please feel free to contact your MDO at any time for information and advice related to Covid-19 and reopening – even if it’s just for an informal chat to check in.
*UPDATE 13 December 2021*
Covid-19 and museums update
England moves to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.
- From 10 December, face coverings will be required by law in most indoor settings, including museums. However, restaurants and cafes are exempt
- From 13 December office workers who can work from home should do so.
- From 15 December, certain venues and events will be required by law to check that all visitors aged 18 years or over are fully vaccinated, have proof of a negative test in the last 48 hours, or have an exemption. This includes indoor events with more than 500 or more unseated attendees, outdoor events with 4,000 or more unseated attendees, and any events with 10,000 or more attendees indoor or outdoor.
I would recommend keeping an eye on the AIM website as they usually update with museum specific guidance – Reopening Checklist – FAQs – AIM – Association of Independent Museums (aim-museums.co.uk)
Top tips for recovery and planning for smaller museums
Growing through Tough Times: in this illustrated video, Rachel Mackay takes us through some top tips for museum teams to move successfully through the pandemic, particularly focusing on recovery and planning for smaller museums.
Resources and guidance on reopening
- Government guidance on reopening safely for heritage locations
- The Recovery Room (therecoveryroomblog.com) – A space for sharing resources to support museum and heritage professionals during and after the Covid-19 pandemic
- South East Museums reopening toolkit
- AIM reopening checklist and FAQs
- Government guidance for working safely during coronavirus
- CDC guidance on disinfecting
- AIM suggestion for how to manage Track and Trace with free digital booking system
Audiences and visitor data
- Report: Covid-19 Evidence Highlights – audience feedback on digital strategy, community programming, reopening and more, from the Audience Agency
- HVG Remobilisation Survey – results explore people’s willingness and ability to return to volunteering and their experience during Covid-19, from the Heritage Volunteering Group
- Article: Will it be worth it? The re-opening barriers facing visually impaired people – a really useful article from Matthew Cock at VocalEyes.
- EMBED Reopening Recommendation guidance has been created to support organisations in their decision making prior to reopening following COVID-19 lockdown. It considers potential barriers faced by disabled visitors and customers and offers solution based guidance for organisations of all types with the ultimate aim of keeping stakeholders, staff, volunteers visitors, students or customers as safe as possible.
Museums Essex 