Staff at London Zoo are hard at work preparing for visitors next week, after the government gave the go-ahead for zoos to reopen from Monday.
The tourist hotspot will reopen its doors for the first time since March on June 15, and preparations are well underway.
New footage and pictures show staff cleaning animal closures and placing social distancing markers around the site. The images also show the extra hand sanitising points made available throughout the zoo, as well as some of its more exotic inhabitants.
London Zoo warned it would be forced to close if it wasn’t able to operate soon, and it comes as a great relief that the government has stated that zoos, drive-in cinemas and non-essential shops can open from Monday.
ZSL Director General, Dominic Jermey, said: “Thousands of members of the public have written to their MPs to express their faith in the Zoos’ safety measures and their concern for ZSL’s continued survival.
"We are grateful for everyone’s support – we can’t wait to welcome visitors through our gates as soon as we are able."
He added: “As we explained in detail to government, we have redesigned our zoos, set in acres of parkland, to make them covid-secure – our zoos will look, feel and be safe, with a whole range of measures introduced, including additional handwashing facilities and sanitiser stations across our zoos, fun and engaging wayfinders, two metre distance markers laid out in exhibits and one-way routes introduced to manage the flow of visitors safely.”
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) closed the attraction for the first time since the Second World War in March following government guidance. It’s been a difficult time for the zoo, with the site appealing for donations so it could keep feeding its 18,000 animals.
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