COVID-19 statement

UPDATE: As part of the final stages of the roadmap, social distancing measures and the legal requirement to wear face-masks in England have now been lifted. However, though the rules have now changed, guidance still places a strong emphasis on personal responsibility in order to keep the community safe. As such, the museum will be taking steps to ensure the safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers:

• We will continue to ask visitors, staff and volunteers to wear face-masks inside the museum.
• We will continue to encourage social distancing, and provide opportunity for regular sanitation of hands
• We will continue to encourage visitors to use the ‘Track and Trace’ QR codes available in the museum
• We will maintain high standards of cleaning

For more information on current guidance, see the section in bold below.

Background

As of 19th July 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic is still posing an unprecedented threat to the UK, with widespread transmission of the virus still a high risk, particularly for those most vulnerable in the community.

Earlier in the year, the absence of an effective treatment or a vaccine, combined with an exponential growth in infections from late February, led to implementation of interventions to collectively reduce transmission; such as ‘stay-at-home’ policies (recommended or enforced) alongside other community and physical distancing measures, e.g. the cancellation of mass gatherings, closure of educational institutions and public spaces. Museums were included within the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government guidance as one of the businesses/venues that needed to remain closed to members of the public.

These measures were highly disruptive to society, both economically and socially, and there was significant interest in defining a sound approach to adjusting the measures and phasing out ‘stay-at-home’ policies. However, there was a risk that lifting measures too quickly, without appropriate monitoring and health system capacity in place, would cause a sudden resurgence of sustained community transmission.

The UK Government announced on the 10^th of May a roadmap to get the UK out of lockdown measures. Several documents were released covering what additional hygiene procedures, physical screening and protective equipment were required to allow shops and businesses to reopen, alongside what was needed to maintain social distancing between individuals. As of the 15th June, non-essential shops were allowed to reopen, provided they adhered to the government advice and regulations detailed in these documents. Museum shops were included in this phase of reopening and our shop reopened on the 16th June.

Museums and other cultural spaces were allowed to reopen in full on the 7th July, and St Neots Museum opened its doors, following strict government guidance. Now, with the vaccine programme in the UK making great steps, and as part of the final stages of the roadmap, social distancing measures and the legal requirement to wear face-masks have been lifted.

Many museums across the country have been considering the impact of these changes and what it means for our visitors, staff and volunteers. Though the rules have now changed, guidance still places a strong emphasis on personal responsibility in order to keep the community safe. As such, businesses are advised to consider the following when assessing the risk to their staff and visitors:

• Providing adequate ventilation
• Encouraging use of outside space where practical
• Putting in place measures to reduce contact between people
• Encouraging the use of face coverings by workers or customers in enclosed and crowded spaces
• Advising customers and workers to wash their hands or use hand sanitiser frequently
• Maintaining regular cleaning of surfaces

Practical steps the museum is taking to remain open and keep the community safe:

Cleaning

Before reopening, a deep clean has been undertaken of the museum, with particular focus on the shop, toilets and reception areas.

All the key areas of the museum are cleaned on a daily basis, as usual, and in addition staff, will also be cleaning during the day as visitors come and go.

Signage outside the museum will display the key information below about our updated procedures

• We are encouraging all visitors to wear a face-mask inside the museum, and to be conscious of maintaining a distance from other visitors.
• Visitors will be asked to wait outside if the shop and reception are is crowded.
• Visitors are encouraged to sanitise their hands are regular intervals.
• We will be asking visitors to limit the touching of merchandise within the shop.
• Customers will be asked not to enter if they have been feeling unwell, or if they may have been in contact with someone who is unwell.

Updates have been made to our museum and shop to ensure we adhere to government guidance

• In the museum we have fitted automatic release door stops to any normally closed fire doors, so that these are now open for the public and do not need to be touched.
• A new fixed wooden and perspex screen has been installed around the whole reception desk, with a space to pass through the card payment machine.
• New signage displayed inside asking customers to maintain social distancing, there are also discs on the floor to guide customers.
• Free face masks are available for customers who would like to use one. Our volunteers are also equipped with face shields if they are required to come out from behind the protective screen.
• Hand sanitiser stations are available for customers, staff and volunteers.
• We have removed the handling items from display.

To find out more, please see our Risk Assessment for reopening.