Wellington's Te Papa will open again tomorrow after being closed for six days following a visit from a Covid-positive person.
It comes after an estimated 2000 to 2500 people were at Te Papa on June 19 at the same time a Sydney traveller who later tested positive for Covid-19 visited.
Of those people, 123 staff were affected as well as Te Papa's chief executive/Tumu Whakarae Courtney Johnston.
All staff in the museum in the time period were required to get Covid-19 tests, with staff who were in the Surrealist Art exhibition required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The museum is among more than a dozen exposure sites identified across Wellington that the case visited, including a pharmacy, a supermarket, a bookstore, and several restaurants.
However, while most of Te Papa's exhibitions will open again tomorrow, some interactive displays will remain closed.
In a statement this morning, Te Papa said its Surrealist Art exhibition will open with up to 78 people allowed in at a time, to enable the recommended distancing between people.
"We deep cleaned the building last week and have been looking forward to opening our doors again," Johnston said.
"Te Papa can open safely under Alert Level 2. The key thing for us is having enough staff on the floor, while a number of our team are waiting for test results. With sufficient test results now coming in, we have enough staff who have tested negative to welcome and care for our visitors."
The museum, which its carpark has been used as a Covid-19 testing station at the weekend, will open again under the same Alert Level 2 restrictions as the rest of Wellington.
"The health of our community is our number one focus, and we have worked with health authorities to do whatever we can to support the health of Aotearoa," Te Papa’s Kaihautū/Māori co-leader Dr Arapata Hakiwai said.
Karakia were held for the re-opening of the museum to staff today, and a further karakia will be held on Tuesday before the museum opens to the public.
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