With the large international visitation that the National Park System receives, it's only natural to wonder how the National Park Service is guarding against visitors who might be infected with Coronavirus.
Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Death Valley are among the park units that attract large numbers of international visitors.
"While there have been no identified cases of Coronavirus in any national park, the NPS Office of Public Health and the U.S. Public Health Service officers assigned to the National Park Service are closely monitoring the situation and keeping staff informed, relying on the most updated data and information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Alexandra Picavet, the acting chief spokesperson for the Park Service, said Tuesday.
"Parks are informed to follow CDC guidance regarding preventative actions to help prevent the spread of viruses, particularly during flu and respiratory disease season."
Comments
I hope our National Parks Stay Open! I am planning on coming to the GC 3/23 for that week with my family. I am a nurse, my family are young & healthy. Wash your hands often & do not touch your face! Enclosed spaces with poor ventilation should be off limits. common sense.
Currently employed with the NPS and I don't recall even an email concerning proactive actions. Absolutely no mention of the issue in morning safety meetings. Campgrounds are currently full with individuals from almost every state many of which came directly from other campgrounds. It hit home early in the week when a Maintenance worker talked about cleaning vomit and feces up from a restroom floor.
Seems that it would be pretty easy to spread this mess through this agency simply by the nature of the service this agency provides.
Thhnk about the staff who cannot stay home if it is open. Many have high risk family members at home..... Your trip of a lifetime isn't as important as someones life.
You can drive throught Yosemite Valley without getting out of your car and still enjoy it's breathtaking beauty. Take precautions if you are around people or touching surfaces. If you don't want to take the risk, you should reschedule your trip.
So, by using your train of thought, we should close down all schools, movie theaters, grocery stores, malls, gas stations, etc -- anything that would have more than a small gathering of people. Campers camp to get AWAY from people, they are not harming anyone. And no, they do not close for government shutdowns - they have less staff.
Coming in from Minnesota, please don't shut parks down. Use Common Sense.
If you have a fever, don't feel well, are sick -- don't visit or don't go to work there. its that simple.
wash hands, and maintain 5 ft social distance to next guest.
Please don't close the parks unless it is absolutely necessary to everyones life and health. The media has created a huge panic. It is important to be smart, educated and prepared for any possible disaster. Closing The parks will only create more fear which will create more panic which will lead to more shortages of supplies and eventually lead to chaos and violence.
The government is restricting travel into the country so our parks are not going to be flooded with tourists the way they normally are. People that work in these areas are already loosing the money they need to survive. Obviously there are certain people that should not be traveling, like people with weak immune systems, newborns and elderly but let individuals make that decision for themselves.
No they shouldn't. It should be decided by the individual locations and what kind of outbreak they are having. Parks in Washington state should probably start considering it in certain areas were the outbreaks are high, that's it. There are plenty of places that are remote parks that are visited by smart educated campers and backpackers that will not be touched by this virus. Also, closing the parks means people don't get paid. I don't think making people homeless is the answer to controlling the coronavirus.