Museums in China and South Korea Are Reopening, But Strict Restrictions Will Be Placed on Visitors

As cultural institutions in the
US continue rapidly to close
their doors in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak,
there’s some good news coming from eastern Asia:
museums in China and South
Korea are reopening after aggressive lockdowns and quarantine
procedures seem to have have curbed the spread of the
disease.

More than 10 museums and
galleries in Shanghai—including the China Art Museum, the Power
Station of Art, and the Shanghai Museum—have reopened to the public
today, according to local news
reports. This marks the
first time these institutions have opened since late January, when
mainland China went into lockdown.

Restrictions are in place at
each venue, with most requiring visitors to submit their health
code—a state-mandated QR system that tracks a person’s risk level
on a red-yellow-green scale—upon entry.

The Shanghai Museum, which
houses a world-class collection of ancient Chinese artworks, is
limiting itself to 2,000 visitors per day, and only 300 at any
given time. Guests will have their temperatures taken upon entry,
and will have to wear masks for the duration of their
visits. 

Similar entrance policies are in
place at the Power Station of Art, where the total number of
visitors is limited to 500 per day, and reservations must be made
in advance through the museum’s WeChat channel. The museum has also
set up emergency quarantine areas on each floor, a spokesperson
told The Art
Newspaper. 

The Art Newspaper
also reports that
the Edouard Malingue Gallery, the Art+Shanghai Gallery, and ArtCN
have also opened. The Danysz Gallery will reopen by appointment
starting next week.

In South Korea, the National
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul is scheduled to
reopen on March 23. But other museums in the capital city, such as
the Seoul Museum of Art and the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, remain
closed.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for
China’s National Health Commission announced that the “peak of the
epidemic has passed” and that the number of cases was
decreasing.

The country has had almost
81,000 cases and nearly 3,200 deaths to date. 

Officials in South Korea, the
Asian country hit hardest outside China, also reported this week
that the number of recoveries has outpaced the number of new cases
for the first time since January.

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Strict Restrictions Will Be Placed on Visitors appeared first
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