AQUARIUM MAY BE CLOSE TO REOPENING
General admission reopening expected in May
MONTEREY » The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s executive director is optimistic, albeit cautiously, that one of the biggest tourist draws to the Monterey Peninsula will be able to reopen in the next few weeks.
In a statement Thursday, aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard said she was encouraged by the news coming from the California Department of Public Health that they were adjusting the metrics for counties to advance to the state’s red tier in its Blueprint for a Safer Economy. In the statement, the aquarium said it will first welcome back its members and donors and general admission will follow later in May.
The California Department of Public Health said in a press release on Friday it expected Monterey County to move to the red tier on Tuesday, a move that would take effect on Wednesday.
The Monterey County Health Department on Tuesday reported that the state released the latest county-level COVID-19 data, and the county’s case rate was listed at 7.2 per 100,000, just a tick above the state threshold of 7 for moving into the less restrictive red tier. And the numbers continue to look good.
On Thursday there were just 15 new cases reported, one of the lowest daily caseloads since the onset of the pandemic. On the same day, Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas Valley Medical Center said they had four and two patients being treated, respectively. That compares to Community Hospital having 50 patients at one point following the holidays.
“With this development, and the continued decline in cases of COVID-19 in Monterey County, I’m cautiously optimistic that Monterey Bay Aquarium will be able to open our doors in a few weeks — for the first time in more than a year,” Packard said in her statement.
When it closed in March 2020, it was a blow on a number of levels. Soon after closing, the aquarium was forced to lay off staff in two tranches. The first layoffs in April saw 93 employees laid off and another round in July brought the total to 174 with many more placed on furloughs.
At that point, the aquarium said it expected to lose $45 million in 2020, but that was based on the belief that it would be able to reopen in the summer. Just as it was ready to institute protocols to reopen in July, COVID-19 infections surged in Monterey County and the hammer fell. Hope for reopening vanished.
It was also a blow to the entire region. The aquarium is an international draw and is considered one of, if not the, biggest generators of tourist dollars to the area. When the aquarium
is open, people shop, stay overnight and that helps generate needed revenue for the city.
“It’s significant in that it amplifies the extent the pandemic is having,” Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar said at the time of the closing. “The aquarium has the role of being the center anchor of tourism in Monterey along with Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf.”
When the aquarium does reopen, it will come with a new set of protocols. Both aquarium members and the general public will need to reserve tickets online for a specific date and time. Tickets will not be sold at the main entrance.
Many of the protocols are standard fare in the era of COVID-19. Face coverings will be required that cover both the nose and the mouth. There will be exemptions for children aged 2 and younger and those with a medical condition that prevents them from wearing face coverings.
And while visitors used to be able to meander anywhere they liked through the exhibits, following the reopening visitors will be physically distanced and will be guided in one direction along a set path.