Winchester Mystery House, San Francisco Zoo reopen after shutdown

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Winchester Mystery House is reopening its doors Monday after getting the green-light for self-guided tours.

Visitors will once again be able to see the San Jose landmark, but with a new set of safety guidelines.

“We’re excited," said Betsy McDonnell, a maintenance worker. "We’re uber cautious safety-wise. We’re really just focused on making this safe so we can keep going.”

This means Winchester is rehiring upwards of half the staff laid off during the COVID-fueled shutdown.

Winchester executives say the new rules for this reopening will mean smaller groups, from two-to-six people, socially distanced and everyone wearing facemasks.

Sanitizing stations will be sprinkled throughout the mansion.

And in San Francisco, the zoo reopens to members on Monday, though capacity will be restricted to half and all visitors will need a reservation.

Non-members can come to the zoo on Wednesday. The zoo was in a group of businesses originally slated to reopen on June 29.

But the mayor put those reopenings on hold because of a spike in coronavirus cases in the city.