NEWS: White House Releases Phased Reopening Guidelines for When States Choose to Reopen

In an effort to help flatten the curve, all of the Disney Parks worldwide are currently closed. But, obviously, it’s not just the Disney Parks that are closed — many businesses throughout the US, as well as worldwide, are closed as a result of the current health crisis as well.

During this uncertain time, a large percentage of the nation is currently under stay-at-home orders, with precautionary measures in place to help prevent the spread. When it comes to reopening businesses, many in the country are turning to health and government officials for guidance on when it may be safe to reopen the economy.

According to CNN, President Trump has told governors of each state that “[they] are going to call [their] own shots” when it comes to determining when and how it would be best to reopen the states. However, the White House has also composed a set of recommended, non-mandatory, guidelines that will be distributed to each governor as “a three-phase approach to easing restrictions that depends on meeting specific case count and hospital capacity thresholds.”

According to the White House document, phase one is intended for a “sustained decrease in cases over a 14-day period and a return to pre-crisis conditions in hospitals.” At this phase, states should have the “ability to quickly set up safe and efficient screening and testing sites.”

During the proposed phase one of reopening, employers are encouraged to practice precautionary measures such as testing, sanitation measure, and temperature checks, the latter of which is a screening measure that Disney’s Bob Iger has mentioned as being in consideration for Disney Parks in the past. During this phase, large venues “can operate under strict physical distancing protocols”, while it’s recommended that non-essential travel be minimized.

Temperature Screenings Currently Implemented at Shanghai Disney ©USA Today

From there, phase two and three gradually decrease the recommended guidelines and restrictions. Phase two is recommended for “states and regions with no evidence of a rebound and that satisfy the gating criteria a second time”, while phase three is for when the criteria is satisfied a third time.

Ultimately, President Trump has told each’s states governor that the reopening of their state will be up to them. With the set of guidelines being unveiled to governors today, we will wait and see what course of action is chosen. Currently, both Florida and California, where Disney World and Disneyland are respectively located, are under statewide stay-at-home orders. At this time, California has not given an end date to the order, while Florida’s is currently in place through April 30th.

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