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National Parks Remain Open During Coronavirus Epidemic

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Published Date

March 12, 2020
Coronavirus image/CDC,Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS

Coronavirus image/CDC,Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAMS

National parks and their facilities remain open during the coronavirus epidemic in the United States while National Park Service officials await further guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, agency staff said Thursday.

"To help guide the National Park Service operational response to the novel (new) coronavirus (COVID-19), the NPS Office of Public Health and the U.S. Public Health Service officers assigned to the NPS are closely monitoring the situation and keeping staff informed," Park Service acting chief spokesperson Stephanie Roulett told the Traveler in an email. "They are relying on the most updated data and information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM), state and local public health authorities, and coordinating with the DOI Office of Emergency Management.

"The national parks are open and facilities are maintaining continuity of operations," she added. "The NPS is focused on ensuring employees, their families, volunteers, and visitors are safe by following the most current guidance from the CDC, OPM, OEM, and other federal, state, and local health authorities."

The Park Service has been working to keep the public up-to-date on the situation via its public health website.

Representatives for Xanterra Parks & Resorts and Delaware North, two of the largest concessionaires in the National Park System with operations in places such as Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Sequoia, and Shenandoah national parks, did not immediately reply Thursday to emailed requests for how they were approaching the epidemic in their park lodges and restaurants.

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Comments

Submitted by Rosie on March 13, 2020 - 4:08pm.

I think it's a good decision -- when you're in a park, there aren't crowds of people around -- and everyone can be cautious about handrails.  We can't stop living.   


Submitted by Rosie on March 13, 2020 - 4:09pm.

Exactly


Submitted by Hankus on March 13, 2020 - 4:18pm.

It is human contact within 6 feet of each other and susceptible people are the sickly obese smoking elderly.. being outdoors which is what I thought the national parks were about and being mm younger healthier, non-obese, non-smoking younger age group is beneficial. If it is a Locale which is predominantly a building where people will stand shoulder-to-shoulder then that should be limited as to where people stand


Submitted by Henry Joseph on March 13, 2020 - 4:23pm.

Those at risk are those who are in poor health such as the unhealthy elderly, smokers, obese. Crowding is an issue. An outdoor facility which most national parks are and filled with energetic individuals should do fine. An urban facility where everyone is crowded into the theater where someone can sneeze is a different story.


Submitted by Cherie on March 13, 2020 - 4:26pm.

National Parks are not just outside areas. The Statue of Liberty is a National Park, that it actually a statue building, that requires a ride on a ferry boat packed with people. 


Submitted by Terry Dunn on March 13, 2020 - 5:05pm.

Yes, leave them open, I'm going in may

 


Submitted by Anonymous on March 13, 2020 - 5:20pm.

It's not the park, it's flying to those parks


Submitted by LW on March 13, 2020 - 5:32pm.

Mt Everest is closed. Come on.


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