Monterey Bay Aquarium expects to reopen in a few weeks

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION) Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that criteria for moving between tiers of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy will be adjusted once 2 million vaccines have been administered in the hardest-hit communities and that is good news for the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

When that happens, Newsom expects that counties will be able to move to less restrictive tiers more quickly.

The aquarium has been closed since the start of the pandemic. Monterey County is in the purple tier of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the most restrictive tier. While it is in the purple, the aquarium is only allowed to open outdoors, and so far, the county has been unable to leave the purple tier.

Monterey County health officials now expect to move to the red tier in the coming weeks, which would allow the aquarium to open indoors with limited capacity.

"We’re very encouraged by the news from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), which will adjust the metrics for counties to advance to the Red Tier in California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. With this development, and the continued decline in cases of COVID-19 in Monterey County, I’m cautiously optimistic that Monterey Bay Aquarium will be able to open our doors in a few weeks—for the first time in more than a year," wrote Monterey Bay Aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard in a statement.

When the aquarium reopens, it says it plans to bring back members and donors first and allow for general admission later in May. Specific dates have not been released.

Monterey Bay Aquarium works to stay afloat while continuing to give back to community

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aquarium has had to lay off about 240 staff members, about 40% of the pre-pandemic workforce, due to the financial strain. It has gone from a $90 million budget to a loss of $55 million in revenue as of January.