Tamil Nadu govt issues SOPs as museums reopen from November 10

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government on Monday issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the museums in the State which are being opened from Tuesday.  The Department of Museums runs 21 district museums and the Chennai Museum at Egmore. Museums located outside the containment zones only will be allowed to open.

Here are the key SOPs for museums:  

1.  For the Government Museum, Chennai, online booking is to be done for entry, especially for bulk visitors like school students. Slots for entry are planned to avoid crowding. After booking, SMS will be sent to the visitors informing the time.  

2.  For individual visitors without online booking, to avoid human interface, QR scanning and mobile based ticketing be arranged.  

3.  Maximum number of visitors to be allowed per day can be fixed and museum working hours can be increased by 30 minutes to adjust for this.  

4.  For district museums, QR Code enabled payment be introduced and for bulk bookings online slotted bookings is to be arranged.  

5.  Visitors should wash their hands thoroughly while entering the museum complex even when hands are not visibly dirty. Use of face masks is mandatory.  

6.  The number of visitors to be allowed for entry per hour to be ascertained considering the physical distancing of six feet.  

7.  Persons above 65 years of age, persons comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay at home.  

8.  Touching statues/idols or any display panels or objects etc., should not be allowed.  

9.  All employees of the museums should mandatorily download the Aarogya Setu mobile application.