Museums in Italy expected to reopen in 'yellow' zones on 18 January but the Vatican Museums plans to wait until February.

The Vatican Museums are aiming to reopen on 1 February - if coronavirus restrictions allow - according to the museums’ director Barbara Jatta.

The Vatican Museums have been closed to visitors since 5 November, in line with the closure of Italy's museums amid tighter covid-19 restrictions.

• Covid-19: Vatican Museums stay closed until 2021

Earlier in 2020 the Vatican Museums were shut for almost three months, due to the coronavirus emergency, reopening in June.

Museums in Italy are expected to reopen in 'yellow' zones from Monday to Friday, beginning on 18 January, under the country's latest emergency decree due to be announced later today.

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Jatta told Vatican News that work continues behind the scenes: "Editorial work never stopped; all departmental research activity, restoration activity, construction sites and laboratories are up and running."

She also said that the Vatican Museums have boosted their online audience with videos of restoration work on YouTube and a different art work each day on the Instagram page, @vaticanmuseums.