The most magical place on earth is perhaps open during a global pandemic, but at least its cast members now have one place nearby to see if it has affected them. Walt Disney World finelly hat a covid-19 test center that can serve park staff and their families, following repeated requests from one of the park’s unions.
A Disney spokeswoman told io9 that the company has temporarily provided land for a state-run facility for the Community of Florida, which members and their families can access. According to the Hollywood Reporter, de test center will open at Disney’s main gate complex in Kissimmee, Florida, near Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Parking staff can make appointments at designated Disney’s test website and swabs are issued for self-administration tests that are monitored by medical professionals. (No explanation was given as to why employees should do the test themselves.) Results are expected within three to five days, although it is not clear national delays in test results, these timelines can be affected.
The Union of Actors’ ‘Equity’ of Walt Disney World actors has been fighting for the covid-19’s test site, with the corporation’s anger – something it also pushed against at the California location. The president of Workers United Local 50, which represents more than 7,700 Disneyland restaurant workers, previously told io9 that one of Disney’s biggest sticking points was in-testing. The company repeatedly refused to add on-site testing, instead telling employees they could test on their own time.
“If you do not test, how will you identify who is exposed?” President Chris Duarte told io9 in June. “It’s missing a piece of the puzzle.”
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“We have provided the location to assist in community testing and any suggestion that this has been done as a result of any union is unfounded,” Disney said in a statement. “The Florida Division of Emergency Management will serve the location that is available to cast members and their immediate families as well as Florida residents. Our actions support all cast and our community in general. ”
The number daily cases of covid-19 in Florida has been down since the statewide mid-July (that came to over 15,000), but it is not yet under control. Florida saw nearly 12,000 positive test results on August 12th. Currently, the state is facing more than 550,000 cases and close to 9,000 deaths due to the pandemic. It’s enough to ask you why Disney World remains open, but it turns out that the park was not immune to the public health crisis. The park recently scaled back its working hours by smaller crowds because the pandemic has affected tourism and international travel.
Disneyland is still closed because the state of California has not issued its safety guidelines for theme parks to reopen. Given that the state also serves with a sustained emergence of new cases of coronavirus, it may take some time before these security measures can be approved, let alone implemented.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Disney had opened the facility to its employees. Indeed, while Disney Florida has temporarily borrowed its property, it is in a state phase. We regret the mistake.
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