New York's 9/11 memorial museum to reopen next month with COVID-19 restrictions

New York's 9/11 Memorial Museum has announced that it will be re-opening its doors soon after being closed for the past six months due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The museum is dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attack that took place in the US on September 11, 2009. Next month, the museum will reopen on the anniversary of the tragedy to families of the victims and then to the general public at a later date.

Read: Cuomo: Health Workers To Supervise Annual 9/11 Light Tribute

Museums to reopen with restrictions

While the 9/11 memorial plaza has been open to the general public since early June, with social distancing restrictions, the museum itself has remained closed. New York Museums have been given permission by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reopen from the end of this month with required precautions and restrictions in place.

The 9/11 museum's president and CEO, Alice Greenwald, in a statement said, “We are extremely pleased to announce the reopening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, a physical testament to the triumph of hope and our potential for resilience in the face of adversity and unfathomable loss.” 

Read: Group Vows To Stage Twin Beams Of Light For NYC 9/11 Tribute

It was also announced last week that the Liberty and Ellis island museums will be re-opening from August 24. Even though the museums will be re-opening, the Statue of Liberty's interior and some parts of the museum will remain closed.

All museums will be reopening with 25 percent capacity limits and other measures such as Plexiglas dividers and hand-sanitising stations, as well as temperature screenings for all, and a one-direction path through the facility have also been put in place. In addition, the museums will only be open for five days instead of seven days a week as was the case before coronavirus lockdown.

The coronavirus pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 22 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 794,000.

As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of at least 5.7 million positive virus cases and has a death toll of 176,950. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.

Read: Man In Famous 9/11 Photo Dies From COVID-19 In Florida

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