This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
Published on July 6, 2020, the Louvre Museum in Paris has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, losing over 40 million euros ($45 million) in ticket sales during the near-four-month lockdown.
As the museum reopens, director Jean-Luc Martinez has admitted that it could have a few more lean years ahead as the world adapts to the virus.
While most of the museum's popular draws, including the Mona Lisa and its vast antiquities collection, will be accessible, other galleries where social distancing is more difficult will remain closed.
Visitors will be required to stand on well-distanced spots marked on the floor in front of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, and arrows will guide them through the labyrinth of galleries to avoid bottlenecks.
The museum hopes to attract more French visitors to fill the gap as it embarks on a campaign to shake off its elitist image before the Paris Olympics in four years' time.
