Camden’s Adventure Aquarium reopens after COVID-19 closure

Adventure Aquarium in Camden reopened with some new restrictions on Wednesday following a monthslong closure caused by COVID-19.

News 12 Staff

Jul 15, 2020, 9:48 PM

Updated 1,540 days ago

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Adventure Aquarium in Camden reopened with some new restrictions on Wednesday following a monthslong closure caused by COVID-19.
After 120 days without visitors, the aquarium opened its doors to members, operating at 25% capacity.
“We knew as soon as they opened that we would be here. We definitely missed it,” says Ann Suplee, of Pennsauken.
But there are some changes to how the aquarium will operate to help keep guests safe.
“Areas like theaters will be closed. Play areas where there’s a lot of high-touch surfaces will be closed. We’ve added additional staff onto the floor, from a custodial perspective, to increase our frequency of disinfection of high-touch areas,” says executive director Vince Nicoletti.
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Guests will be required to wear masks and must have their temperature taken before they can enter. Adventure Aquarium officials say that they hope that it will make the patrons feel more comfortable about visiting.
“Not a big deal. I feel like that’s kind of been at some other places too. It was just nice to know that they were being safe with us,” Suplee says.
Gov. Phil Murphy allowed attractions like aquariums to reopen on July 2. But Adventure Aquarium officials said that they needed more time to rehire more than 100 employees that had been furloughed.
And with operating costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, officials say that they are happy to see guests inside once more.
“We felt very safe with all the restrictions. It felt like we could enjoy the space and still be cautious, so it worked out just fine,’ says Suplee.
The aquarium was open to members Wednesday and Thursday. The general public will be allowed back on Friday. Reservations will be required.