STORES JUMP TO SECOND PHASE
DUBLIN ZOO DOES A ROARING TRADE ON DAY 1 OF REOPENING
CROWDS of people gathered outside Dublin Zoo as it reopened to the public yesterday.
Excited groups of family and friends made their way inside the zoo for its official reopening after its gates were shut to the public around 11 weeks ago.
A maximum of 500 people are permitted at any one time – and strict socialdistancing measures will ensure the safety of visitors and staff, the director of the animal enclosure said.
Day tickets for June and July have already sold out online – with demand ‘very high’ since tickets went on sale on Monday, a spokesman confirmed. The zoo has only released tickets for June and July thus far as part of its ‘carefully phased approach to opening’, the spokesman added.
Georgina Kendrick, Jackie Cunningham and children George and Teddy Kendrick were among the first in line outside the zoo yesterday.
Ms Kendrick, who has an annual pass, usually visits the zoo once a month with her children.
She said: ‘We’ve really missed it during the lockdown – the kids have missed it and have been asking for it all the time, so we got really excited when we heard it has reopened.
‘We are lucky we live in
Clontarf so we are beside the park, but this is something a bit different. We have brought our wipes and have hand sanitiser, and we will all keep our distance and it’s open air.’
The zoo has implemented a one-way system, with visits divided into two sessions per day, and it will have less than 10% of its usual capacity.
Hand sanitisers will be available and there will be signage reinforcing physical
10% Of zoo’s usual capacity will be allowed in