Shutterstock
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic could carry over to 2021. According to UBS analyst John Hodulik, Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida may stay closed until January 1, 2021.
“Profitability will likely be impaired until there’s a vaccine,” Hodulik said, via the New York Post. “We believe parks’ profitability will be impaired for a longer period of time given the lingering effects of the outbreak and now assume an opening date of Jan. 1 as our base case.”
The parks were closed by Disney on March 12.
Other analysts have taken a more optimistic approach with suggestions that the parks could open as early as June. However, reopening would include new health measures like checking temperatures of those at the parks. The decision could ultimately be a financial one as well, with Disney reportedly taking a $500 million earnings hit in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-zdmntAlVR/
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 47,900 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
