Thursday June 18, 2020 ~ SOOKE, BC
by Mary Brooke, editor ~ West Shore Voice News
The Sooke Region Museum will re-open to the public on Monday June 22 after being temporarily closed to the public during the early phases of COVID-19, while staff continued to work on the detailed work of building and documenting collections and also then planning for safe reopening with physical distancing.
With more sectors of the economy re-opening this summer in this ‘flattened curve’ phase of COVID-19, Sooke Region Museum will re-open their visitor information centre and gift shop to the public on Monday, with hours of 9:30 am to 5 pm, Monday to Saturday but closed Sundays.
Being closed on Sundays is indicative of some of the overhead and overload of dealing with pandemic conditions. Normally Sunday would be a busy day for the visitor centre function in particular. But like many other businesses and places now visited by the public during the pandemic, more time is needed for cleaning and catching up on work that gets slowed down during the realities of physical distancing.
There will be a “vinyl maze” inside the building, to protect visitors and staff in what is essentially one large room for the museum’s administrative workers and the public including the gift shop and entry area where tourism-related pamphlets and brochures are normally available.
Outdoor night market reopens soon:
The Sooke Night Market which has run for years on Thursday nights from June into September will in fact resume soon.
Last year there were 40 vendors who could or would be on site at any one time. But with physical distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic that will be spaced out or staggered in the outdoor area on the museum grounds.
The hours apparently remain the same as previous years, which are 5 to 8 pm on Thursday summer evenings.
Many crafters, artisans, local food growers and food trucks have been among the vendors at Sooke Night Market in past years.
Activities in BC during COVID-19:
Phase 3 of the Restart BC economic recovery plan is likely to occur next week, said Premier John Horgan yesterday. Horgan is the MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca which includes Sooke.
Up to this point, the tourism sector has been among the hardest hit sectors in the BC economy, due to requirements for physical distancing and people staying home to avoid exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
There is still no effective treatment for COVID-19 infection, and there is no vaccine.