The new normal or the zoo normal?
Dublin Zoo has announced that it will be reopening its doors as of tomorrow, Tuesday 2 June. The zoo has been closed since Ireland entered a Covid-19 lockdown towards the end of March.
Things will not be business as usual at the zoo however, with several special measures being implemented in order to ensure proper social distancing.
Tours must be pre-booked and will take place along a one-way route through the zoo. Other measures in place include hand sanitiser stations, signage to outline the new one-way route and to support the physical distancing, hand-hygiene and coughing/sneezing etiquette.
Similarly, tickets are not being sold at the gates.
The tour will remain comprehensive and feature "most" of the zoo animals, including: Asian elephants, South American tapirs, chimpanzees, the troop of Western lowland gorillas, Southern white rhinos (including the male rhino calf), zebras, California sea lions, the colony of Humboldt penguins (including the two new-born chicks), ring-tailed lemurs, red-ruffed lemurs, snow leopards, Sulawesi crested macaques, orangutans, Siamang gibbons and Asian lions.
Dublin Zoo notes on its website: "We will rely on the personal and parental responsibility of visitors to adhere to the guidelines which have been put in place."
https://twitter.com/DublinZoo/status/1267440768555286528?s=20
As Ireland remains in Phase One of its lockdown plan, one must live within 5km of Dublin Zoo in order to visit it.
