Assessing the situation

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to begin by thanking each of you for your strength and perseverance. As we collectively face these necessary restrictions that have temporarily transformed most aspects of our lives, I want to recognize your courage and resilience. Many in our community face challenges of how we continue to parent or provide eldercare, while others must find new ways to engage with their friends and families. I know that none of this is easy, and I am proud of how we as a community are responding.

As we continually assess our current situation and future steps, I am working closely with the COVID-19 Response Team to ensure that we protect our employees, our communities, and our visitors when they return to experience our cultural and scientific heritage in person.

We are monitoring public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, our federal counterparts and local governments in the Washington, D.C.-metro area, New York and Cambridge, as well as in Arizona, Hawaii, Panama and Belize. We will continue to assess the situation and will announce an opening date when we are confident that we can do so in the best, smartest, safest way for our staff and guests.

I have decided to extend our moratorium on special events and programming as well as travel, both domestic and international, until at least July 1. If you already have trips, programs, or in-person events scheduled for after that date, don’t cancel them just yet, but please do remove anything that remains on your calendar between now and July 1.

Thank you to everyone who has made the transition to telework. While it is an adjustment for many of us, staying off-site protects our essential employees on-site, who secure and operate our facilities and care for our living collections. We will communicate any updates to our enhanced telework status when we can be confident that we can ensure staff safety.

Please continue to check the Smithsonian’s COVID-19 website for the latest information on our response to the pandemic, including answers to frequently asked questions, policies and guidance, and links to helpful resources can be found on that website.

As always, thank you for all you do for the Smithsonian and for our country, and continue to stay safe.

Best,

Lonnie G. Bunch
Secretary

Related posts:

COVID-19 Update: What does “closed to the public” mean to me? ICYMI: Highlights from the week that was Feb. 8 – 14, 2020 COVID-19 Update: Smithsonian Facilities Central Services Remembering Michael Collins