A review of how national parks reopened after being closed for COVID-19 found 10 did not have defined plans/NPS

A review of how national parks reopened in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic found that ten did not have fully developed plans for preventing the spread of Covid-19.

The review, conducted by Interior Department's Office of Inspector General, looked at how the 62 "national parks" prepared to reopen after having been closed by the pandemic. In looking at 30 of the parks that had either already started a phased reopening or planned to by July 1, the OIG staff "found that 20 national parks had developed or had begun developing a phased reopening plan with COVID-19 considerations."

However, the review also found that the 10 had not developed a well-defined plan.

"For example, Biscayne National Park in Florida and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona had not begun developing COVID-19 reopening plans but had anticipated reopening in May and June, respectively," noted the OIG report released Thursday. "Further, on May 4, 2020, Everglades National Park reopened some of its park facilities and services, including the
marina store, restrooms, gas pumps, and fish-cleaning stations. We found that although the Everglades National Park provided us with a document listing a few general park restrictions and a concessionaire’s plan noting precautions for operating the marina store, fuel pumps, and bath house, Everglades National Park had not begun developing an overall COVID-19 reopening plan."

While the OIG staff acknowledged that there's not a "one-size-fits-all" plan for dealing with the disease, it added that "(C)onsidering the risks associated with COVID-19 and the phased reopening of the national parks, it is imperative that all NPS locations have a park-specific plan to reopen."

"Now that the NPS has issued its formal guidance to all 419 locations, it must ensure that moving forward every location follows, at a minimum, the NPS guidance and has appropriate policies and procedures in place to operate in a way that provides public access while protecting visitors and staff from further transmission of the virus," said the report.

OIG noted that the Park Service guidance, issued May 28, calls for:

• Strategic direction, guidance, and an adaptive decision making framework to reopen in a phased approach, when the risk to employees and the public can be sufficiently mitigated
• A risk assessment tool for reopening public-facing facilities and identifying reasonable mitigation techniques to protect employees, volunteers, contractors, and visitors
• NPS’ roles and responsibilities regarding reopening plans 

NPS recommended COVID-19 mitigation strategies included:

• Social distancing protocols
• Cleaning procedures
• Occupancy limits
• Monitoring employees health in the workplace
• Signage requirements 
• Ventilation guidance