Disney Parks could take temperatures of guests after reopening due to coronavirus, Bob Iger says

The Cinderella Castle at Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park in Florida.(Dewayne Bevil/Orlando Sentinel)

Disney is considering new safety protocol for when its theme parks reopen following the coronavirus crisis, including potentially taking the temperatures of guests.

Bob Iger, the executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company, said in a new interview with Barron’s that discussions are underway about how to help people feel comfortable once they begin to regain some level of normalcy in their lives.

“Some of that could come in the form ultimately of a vaccine, but in the absence of that it could come from basically, more scrutiny, more restrictions,” Iger told Barron’s. “Just as we now do bag checks for everybody that goes into our parks, it could be that at some point we add a component of that that takes people’s temperatures, as a for-instance.”

Disney announced the indefinite closures of its Disneyland and Disney World parks and resorts last month in response to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Iger said the company has been closely monitoring the efforts made by China as the country attempts to return to normalcy after the coronavirus pandemic.

“And one of the things that’s obvious is they’ve conscripted a large segment of their population to monitor others in terms of their health,” Iger told Barron’s. “You can’t get on a bus or a subway or a train or enter a high-rise building there — and I’m sure this will be the case when their schools reopen — without having your temperature taken.”