SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego museums, malls, and restaurants are once again offering indoor services now that the county is in the red tier of coronavirus restrictions.
Roxana Velasquez couldn’t hide her excitement Friday.
“The days are beautiful, the spring is coming, very very soon,” she said.
Velasquez is the executive director of the San Diego Museum of Art, which reopens to the public Saturday after five months of online-only exhibits.
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“There's nothing, nothing that can replace the direct contact, the experience, to sense what it's like to be in a space that welcomes you from the get-go,” she said.
Museums can reopen at 25 percent capacity amid the red tier, which the county reached Tuesday.
Restaurants are also now serving indoors at 25 percent - including Novo Brazil in Otay Ranch. General Manager Leonardo Bauer hopes their 200-inch LED TVs bring in San Diego State fans to watch the Aztecs in the NCAA Tournament.
“With the indoor, we’ll be able to extend the capacity, plus the entertainment with the games and fights, and it's more cozy,” he said.
The Birch Aquarium is opening with limited capacity, as are indoor dining areas at malls.
Back in Balboa Park, The Japanese Friendship Garden reopened, as did the Air and Space Museum for the fourth time amid the pandemic.
“We were ready to reopen three months ago because that's how good they are, our docent, team, everyone is ready to go,” said Jim Kidrick, the Air and Space Museum's CEO.
Additional Balboa Park museums, including the Fleet Science Center, plan to open in April.
The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park will increase their indoor dining capacity to 25 percent, and retail capacity to 50 percent.