While most Bay Area zoos and aquariums are already open with limited capacity, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has stayed closed.
But the aquarium announced some good news: a reopening date is now set for mid-May.
As Bay Area residents and tourists missed watching the otters, the jellyfish and more this past year, the aquarium is now set to reopen to members and donors on May 1 and the general public two weeks later.
Guests will have to retrieve timed entry tickets online, with only 125 people allowed in every half hour. Officials said it’s intended to create a one-way flow going through the venue, so people avoid bunching up in front of popular windows.
"Some of our areas will be what we call ‘on pause,’" said David Rosenberg, vice president of guest services. "So some of our children's interactive areas just won’t be available at this point. Overtime, of course, we’ll be looking into reopen them. But some of the high-touch areas are definitely going to be closed or, for ones that are open, we will have hand sanitizer."
The aquarium lost $55 million in revenue during the coronavirus pandemic, forcing it to let go 40% of its staff, which amounted to about 240 people.
But it still needed to spend $1.3 million per week to feed and care for all the animals.
Some of that staff is coming back in preparation for the May reopening.
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