COVID-19 information

COVID-19 info for museums and galleries

Links to resources and information to support you through the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.

Poster on wall of book store that explains poems have been taken down and donated to Auckland Museum.
Time Out bookstore in Auckland donates Covid-19 responses to Auckland Museum (Image courtesy of Time Out)

New Zealand is operating at Code Red

Key things to note:
•    Close contact exemption scheme to help keep critical supply chains running through Omicron launches.
•    Guidelines have been confirmed for people who either work alone, or can do so.

Critical service worker contact exemption
•    Close contact exemption scheme to help keep critical supply chains running through Omicron launches. 
•    From today, businesses and organisations can register online as a critical service if they think they will meet the criteria when New Zealand enters
     Phase 2.  
•    Critical service workers who are close contacts of COVID-19 cases can keep going to work instead of isolating if they return a negative rapid
     antigen test.
•    Critical services include food production and its supply chain, key public services like health and emergency services, lifeline utilities such as
     power and water supplies, transport, critical financial services, news media and social welfare. It also includes human and animal health and
     welfare.

“Bubble of one” contact exemption 
•    Guidelines have been confirmed for people who either work alone, or can do so.
•    These workers will be able to continue operating in a “bubble of one” if they are identified as a contact.  
•    These guidelines apply to any workers, not just critical workers, and do not require them to return regular tests. 
•    These changes strike a balance between continuing to keep people safe, but also keep businesses and services operating as smoothly as
     possible.

We support all our members and their whānau as we all work through the challenges of this evolving global pandemic. Our first priority is our people - staff, volunteers, visitors and the wider community.

Log in as a member to see the full range of resources available on this page. 

Museum Hardship Fund 

Round 4 Opens 1 March 2022.

Museum Hardship Fund - Te Papa website

Ministry for Culture & Heritage COVID funding

The cross-sector Arts & Culture COVID Recovery Programme has a number of streams that are available to public museums and art galleries.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage website

Relevant Aotearoa websites

Links to COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) advice and resources on Aotearoa websites. 

Contact tracing tools

Overseas resources

Advocacy

We are actively advocating for the museum and gallery sector as we face the impact of the pandemic on revenue and budgets as well as activities.

Subscribe to resourcing updates - Manatū Taonga, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Impact on the sector

Reports on the impacts of COVID-19 on the museum, gallery and heritage sector. 

Funding

You can read about the government's COVID-19 economic response package on the Treasury website.

For funds specific to the museums, gallery and heritage sector see our funding and grants page.

Where available, YouTube videos of these events are available in our publications and resources library.

Find more content

Find all content from the Museums Aotearoa website tagged in relation to COVID-19

See our archived website with COVID-19 information during the crisis

Feedback, suggestions, resources to share?

Contact us