The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has been closed since March 13, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and it appears they will stay closed for a while longer. The popular Nashville attraction, which previously announced they would remain closed through July 31, just announced they are extending that closure for at least one more month, until August 31.

“The museum’s top priority is the health and safety of our guests and our staff. That guides our decisions about opening, closing and every other consideration,” Kyle Young, CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement. “We look forward to the day when guests from all over the world can explore our galleries again, but the continued increase of COVID-19 cases across the nation causes us to feel that it is wise to remain closed at present, to protect employees and visitors.”

The Country Music Hall of Fame was forced to lay off or furlough more than 170 employees, as a result of the lack of business, but remains hopeful about the future of the museum.

“We were forced to make this difficult decision by a challenging business environment unprecedented in the museum’s history,” Kyle said at the time. “Since closing March 13, the museum has lost millions of dollars in budgeted revenue. Our economic setbacks, coupled with the uncertainties of the future related to the pandemic, make it necessary to take these measures now to protect the institution and ensure its future.”

Still, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which has lost more than $22 million in revenue due to the pandemic, has expanded their online programs to keep fans engaged, while the doors to the physical building remain closed.

“Our commitment is to service and open access,” Lisa Purcell, Senior Vice President of Community Outreach, Education and Development told Everything Nash. “As a nonprofit that holds the country music story and the public trust, it’s ‘How do we serve people all the time in the best way?’ I fully anticipate that our commitment to digital programming will maintain after we reopen, and I think that’s one of the great awakenings for many arts and cultural organizations in this post COVID world. We’ve all been challenged to transition our service in the digital space.

“One of the great things that has happened is we realized how many people we can serve,” Lisa continued. “The impetus for continuing to serve and reaching people and our moving barriers and the handiness of technology is real … The reach is really big and that is one of the silver linings. The innovation of how to serve people, I think we’ll continue to advance that.”

Updates will be posted on the Country Music Hall of Fame’s website as available.