The temporary closure of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was confirmed last week. This extends towards all three locations across New York City. Those include the Met Cloisters, the Met on Fifth Avenue and the Met Breuer. Confirmed announcements came after growing concerns regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic, prompting the American government to limit mass gatherings of fifty people or more. Following these closures and the American economy after Covid-19, the Met expects that $100 million will be lost in revenue.

The Chief Executive Officer & President of the Metropolitan Museum provided official remarks to the New York Times. This was after a company-wide letter was delivered to Department Heads, allowing these respective individuals to inform their employees on the new measures. It was expressed that employed staff have a profound responsibility to preserve the treasured art at their respective institutions, prompting this decision.

Three emergency measures will be implemented through March 17th to April 4th, with that period up for evaluation following the condition of Covid-19. The 1st measure requires that employees remain from home and work in specific circumstances if possible. Paycheques will continue to be provided to ensure that employed individuals are protected. Volunteers won’t be provided monetary compensation.

Continued Measures

These emergency actions will continue throughout April to July, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art delegating how funds are spent. That’ll be enacted to ensure that operational costs are limited, with these measures extending towards the termination of expenditures and hiring new employees until October. After October, standard Metropolitan Museum operations will be re-introduced. These individuals anticipate that associated profits will remain minimal until 2021 when domestic and global tourism is slated to return to standard valuations.

It should be mentioned that this decision followed after two employees with the Metropolitan Museum of Art displayed symptoms of the coronavirus. It prompted the immediate closure of all their venues, with these employees often engaging with all locations. There have been two previous times when the Metropolitan has shut down operations, with this including Hurricane Sandy and 9/11. This museum was expecting lowered profits throughout the 2020 Fiscal Year, with those deficits initially valued at $4 million. Those valuations have increased to a maximum of $60 million.