Tier-ific!

What to do now lockdown's over

Credit @ReecePape Liverpool Life

Let’s go shopping

Stadiums reopen with capacity of 2,000

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Museums ready to welcome visitors

By ELEANOR DOWD

National Museums Liverpool (NML) has announced that its museums and galleries will reopen to the public today.

After a pretty tough year, full of restrictions and social distancing, it seems that the final month of 2020 could be slightly more joyous.

Laura Pye, Director of National Museums Liverpool said: “We’d like to thank the people of Liverpool for supporting the mass testing pilot, which has helped to drive down the number of Covid cases in the city, enabling us to reopen our museums and galleries in the run up to Christmas.

“We must, however, remain vigilant so this achievement doesn’t go to waste.

“We are asking visitors to follow our safety procedures such as booking in advance and wearing face coverings. We also encourage visitors to regularly get tested so we can keep the transmission rate down and continue to welcome people to our venues.”

She added: “With the festive season upon us, Blackler’s Santa has become a firm festive favourite at the Museum of Liverpool since joining our collection in 2013. It’s wonderful that he is back this year to delight visitors amid what has been a very uncertain time, bringing back memories back for many, whilst creating new ones for the younger generation.

“We’ll also be keeping the Black Lives Matter conversation going by celebrating key figures who have shaped the city’s Black music scene in Champion One, Champion All! and encouraging visitors to continue helping us shape the future of World Cultures gallery, enabling us to create displays and a space where issues of colonialism and injustice can be openly explored.”

As long as visitors continue to follow government guidelines and safety procedures, then the things we took for granted before COVID-19 will hopefully remain open.

We’ll be home for Christmas...

Students in Liverpool are tion, with a large number of parents out towards then whereas there are preparing to go back to arriving on the same day. loads of cheap boats home during their families after the Students have been advised the travel window. Maybe more announcement of a six-day that all teaching will be online people are staying at University travel window after the end by December 9, which is a week than I thought.” of the current four-week lockdown. before the end of term and right in Even after the government Will Liverpool be prepared for some the middle of important deadlines released this information, it seems travel chaos? for some courses. The government that not all students agree that this

The six days will see different hopes this will minimise the risk of implemented plan will be effective. universities sending their students’ students taking coronavirus back A Liverpool Life survey of home, with staggered departure to their home addresses, especially students at different universities dates. Liverpool alone has nearly after mass testing has been offered across the country showed that 60,000 students and sending them all during the lockdown period. 56% of students asked would not home on the same day could lead to Aaron Woods, a second year be travelling home during the travel mass amounts of people at railway Business student, from Northern window, with 12 out of 54 people stations, airports, boat docks and bus Ireland, said: “I was going to saying they would be waiting until depots. The chaos could even cause a stay till the end of term, but was the end of term to make their travel back-up among student accommoda- shocked to see the boats are all sold plans. A total of 43% of students

By NEVE WILKIN-

said they would be using public transport to go home, so if all of these were to depart on the same day it could make social distancing harder, and even lead to the spread of coronavirus.

One student nurse said: “I’m on placement until December 21st so it is impossible for us to go home in that window. It also gives transport companies an incentive to increase their prices on those dates”.

With Christmas coming up, money already being a struggle this year, and now being told when to travel, students are advised to shop around for the best deals for tickets. “

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