One of the world’s most famous museums La Louvre in Paris will reopen on Monday after being shut down in March amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The home to the Mona Lisa will reopen for the general public as France implements relaxed restrictions after months of lockdown.
The museum will follow all required safety measures given the current situation, it said.
“The Louvre opens its doors on July 6, 2020. To ensure that everyone has a safe visit, the Louvre changes its entry conditions: booking a time slot and wearing a mask are compulsory. As in any space open to the public, barrier gestures and physical distance must be respected,” reads the museum’s website.
The Louvre has been closed since March 13 and has suffered severe losses. A majority of the museum’s visitors had been tourists. Given the current situation of tourism and operations remaining shut for months, the museum has suffered losses of over 40 million euros, as per an AFP report.
"We have lost 80 per cent of our public. Seventy-five per cent of our visitors were foreigners," museum director Jean-Luc Martinez said as quoted by the report.
"We will at best see 20 to 30 per cent of our numbers recorded last summer -- between 4,000 and 10,000 visitors daily at the most," he said.
Visitors will have to book time designated time slots for visit while group games and large gatherings will be banned.
“Independent tour guides can accompany groups of up to 25 people. They must be equipped with helmets and microphones to respect the physical distance,” reads the website.
The Louvre is likely to be revamped ahead of the Olympic games that will be hosted by Paris in 2024, as per reports.
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