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Museums

The Ministry of Culture has prepared a sanitary protocol that explains the operation of museums

Last update 21.05.2020

The Ministry of Culture has prepared a sanitary protocol that explains the operation of museums

  1. The museum shall provide services to visitors, ensuring a 2 metre distance between visitors, between staff, and between visitors and staff, except for when several persons live in the same household, and prevent people from crowding at the entrance, exit, and elsewhere on the premises.
  2. The museum shall evaluate the need to provide services to groups of visitor (excursions, educational programmes, classes, workshops, lectures, etc.) and to rent the premises for events organised by third parties. As for such events, the museum shall ensure their implementation in accordance with the restrictions set by the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the course of public events.
  3. The museum shall determine the maximum number of visitors that can be on the museum premises simultaneously (if the museum is located in several separate buildings, the maximum number of simultaneous visitors is determined separately for each building), ensuring that there is no more than 1 visitor per 4 m2 of the museum's public space and no more than:
    - 25 visitors in museums with a public space of up to 1000 m2;
    - 50 visitors in museums with a public space of over 1000 m2;
  4. The museum shall, in visible places (preferably at the entrance to the museum territory and buildings), publicly display information on the maximum number of persons that can be in the museum or in the specific building of the museum at the same time.
  5. The museum shall ensure ongoing control of the number of simultaneous visitors. Where necessary, the museum shall organise museum visits by appointment, determining the maximum number of visitors per hour.
  6. The museum shall ensure the planning and control of the flow of visitors both outside and inside the museum, in order to prevent crowding of visitors and to ensure maintenance of a 2 metre distance, including by:
    - to the extent possible, using separate entrances and exits for the organisation of the flow of visitors;
    - removing any obstacles (information boards, etc.) that could restrict the size of the entrance and exit area and thus impede the flow of visitors;
    - displaying clearly legible signs in places visible to visitors, instructing them to be socially responsible and to observe a 2 metre distance;
    - to the extent possible, marking the places for maintaining a 2 metre distance at ticket offices and in other places where the gathering of visitors is likely, such as bathroom areas.
  7. The museum shall place announcements publicly (including on the museum website, social media, and on-site), inviting the visitors to evaluate their health condition and to not attend the museum if the person has signs of a respiratory infection, and also if the person has an obligation to be in self-isolation or home quarantine or to comply with the conditions of strict isolation. 
  8. The museum shall ensure that there are no visitors and employees present in the museum with any signs of a respiratory infectious disease (fever, cough, shortness of breath). The museum has the right to prohibit persons with signs of a respiratory infection from entering the museum and to invite them to leave the museum, recommending that they go home and contact their GP.
  9. To the extent possible, the museum shall sell tickets remotely. The museum shall invite visitors to pay for tickets and other on-site purchases using payment cards, if such possibility is ensured at the museum, limiting cash payments to the extent possible. 
  10. The museum shall regularly inform visitors of the need to maintain a 2 metre distance and other conditions in relation to their visit to the museum by playing audio announcements in Latvian or by a museum employee informing the visitors. Where necessary, the information may also be provided in foreign languages.
  11. The museum shall ensure that both the staff and the visitors have the possibility to upkeep hand hygiene (washing hands with soap under running water and hygienic means for hand drying or using hand sanitisers (a 70% ethanol solution or another effective hand sanitiser)).
  12. The museum shall display clearly legible information on the premises, including in the bathroom areas, reminding to comply with the requirements of hygiene:
    - Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water, especially after visiting public places, before eating, before touching your face, and after visiting the bathroom.
    - If it is not possible to wash your hands, disinfect them with an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
    - Remember that the surfaces of touchscreen devices, such as phones, can be contaminated with viruses and bacteria, so they must be cleaned regularly with alcohol-based disinfectants.
    - Do not touch your face (eyes, nose, and mouth) with unwashed hands.
  13. The museum shall ensure that staff and visitors only use personal or disposable stationery and other inventory and that they prevent them from being passed on from one person to another.
  14. The museum shall evaluate the need to offer visitors the use of shared technical devices (touchscreen devices, computers, their keyboards and mouses, audio guide equipment, etc.). If the museum does offer visitors the opportunity to use such devices, visitors shall be given the opportunity to disinfect their hands before their use, and these devices shall be regularly disinfected (at least 3-5 times a day but, if possible, after each use) with appropriate disinfectants.
  15. The museum shall clean the premises regularly, cleaning especially thoroughly all common surfaces (for example, shared exposition and exhibition design elements, door handles, table surfaces, armrests, handrails, surfaces in bathrooms) by using appropriate disinfectants (the recommended disinfectants are 70% ethanol solution or 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution). Surfaces that are touched by a large number of visitors should be cleaned several times a day. More detailed information on the cleaning of premises is available on the website of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
  16. When issuing collection items to individual visitors, to the extent possible, the museum shall ensure a contactless issuance process and quarantine the collection items received from visitors, ensuring their temporary storage separately from other collection items.
  17. To the extent possible and in compliance with the specific requirements for maintaining the museum's microclimate, the museum shall perform regular ventilation of premises by opening the windows or using effective mechanical ventilation. 
  18. If public catering services are provided on the museum premises or in its territory, the service provider shall be responsible for complying with the conditions laid down in the Order of the Minister of Economics No.1-6.1/2020/55, of 30 March, 2020, “Regarding the Ensuring of Social Distancing at Public Catering Facilities”. 
  19. If trade is performed on the museum premises or in its territory, it shall be implemented by complying with the conditions laid down in the Order of the Minister of Economics No.1-6.1/2020/51, of 20 March, 2020, “Regarding the Ensuring of Social Distancing at Sales Points”.
  20. Work at the museum shall be organised so that the staff of the museum who are not directly involved in working with the visitors are not unnecessarily present in the public areas of the museum at the same time as the visitors.
  21. The museum shall ensure that there are no employees present in the museum to whom the conditions of self-isolation, quarantine, or isolation apply in accordance with sub-clause 4.12. of Cabinet Order No.103 of 12 March, 2020, “Regarding Declaration of the Emergency Situation”;
  22. The competence of the museum management includes the evaluation of the usefulness of the use of face masks and other personal protective equipment; complying with the conditions for facemasks’ and PPE’s proper use and disposal thereof; and also the necessity of determining compliance with other additional safety measures.

Source reference

Kultūras ministrija

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