Libéma zoos want, and can, open as soon as possible

Zoos want - and can - open as soon as possible to offer people a responsible, safe way to relax and recreate outdoors. "As far as we are concerned, we will open the doors again immediately on Wednesday," said Dirk Lips, director of Libéma, which includes Safaripark Beekse Bergen, Eindhoven Zoo, AquaZoo Leeuwarden and ZooParc Overloon.

"People need an outlet, the Dutch police union indicated as much today, and we can provide it," Lips points out. "Zoos are spacious, outdoors and visitor numbers and flows are well organized. We have been proving to be a safe place for two years, so let us give people the opportunity to come and relax with us as soon as possible."

Safely openZoos and amusement parks, together with the safety regions, RIVM and government, established a protocol to be able to open safely as early as the beginning of the pandemic, in 2020. Lips: "That works: there are no sources of infection traceable to the zoos."

Moreover, visitors to zoos come primarily from the region, he emphasizes. "It cannot be that regional visits to indoor accommodations such as furniture malls or hardware stores are possible and visits to an outdoor transit location with 25 - 100 m2 per person are not."

Instantly ready forLips therefore hopes that the government will decide to open the zoos as soon as possible. "We can manage large flows of people and thus limit group formation and possible infections. Besides, we don't need a week to prepare, so as soon as the signal goes green, we can open. We are ready right away!"

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