COVID-19 Crisis: Theme Parks Plan Their Return

PMG is providing near-daily briefings to track the novel coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the economy and business world for our customers. The briefing for May 29th, 2020 was sent to PMG customers this morning, and can be found below.

Despite the holiday, it was a long week for more reasons than one. We’ll keep today’s briefing short and sweet by rounding up the latest economic news and more reopening updates. 

Overall, new coronavirus infections are on the decline in the U.S. and EMEA. 

Source: Axios

2.1M more Americans filed for unemployment claims last week, bringing the total job losses during the crisis to over 40M. One glimmer of hope: The number of continuing claims (claims being collected for two weeks or more) fell, suggesting that companies are rehiring as states allow businesses to reopen. The easing of unemployment claims shows a reduction of coronavirus-related layoffs, though we’re not out of the woods.

American Airlines and Delta are said to be preparing to cut “significant portions of their workforces” through layoffs and voluntary exits. In other job-related news, Amazon announced it would offer full-time jobs to 125k temporary workers who were hired during the pandemic. 

Reopening developments

On Thursday, the New York City Council introduced legislation that would open streets and other public areas to outdoor dining. Backed by the restaurant industry, it would require the city to set health and safety requirements like the closure of streets for outdoor restaurant dining.

Related: Governor Cuomo said he’ll sign an executive order enabling businesses to turn away customers and patrons if they’re not wearing masks, joining other states with mask requirements. 

Theme parks around the world are preparing to reopen for visitors with new regulations to protect both park goers and employees alike. Along the East Coast, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort in Florida have set firm reopen dates. In contrast, Six Flags and others have only agreed upon the guidelines to be enacted, including face masks and enforced social distancing.

On the other side of the country, California theme parks (Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, SeaWorld San Diego, and Legoland) are allowed to reopen during phase 3 of the state’s four-stage plan. In the sports world, the Premier League in EMEA announced it would be restarting on June 17th, but in America, the Boston Marathon will be canceled for the first time in its 124-year history. 

This week, the CDC issued new guidance for corporate offices that, if followed, would remake the corporate work experience with desks six feet apart, required face masks, and more recommendations to protect workers. 

The latest on contact tracing: An app called SwissCovid is out, giving users the first real-world test of Apple and Google’s exposure notification technology. It’s only in a pilot with several thousand users across the country now, but will likely be rolled out more widely in the coming weeks. 

And lastly, as a result of the pandemic and its economic effects, the White House won’t be issuing economic projections this summer, explaining that the “uncertainty caused by the pandemic resulted in economic data that would not provide a meaningful snapshot of the economy.” 

I hope you have a safe and restful weekend ahead of you. See you back here next week.