After being named to California’s COVID-19 Business Recovery Task Force on Friday, The Walt Disney Company Executive Chairman Bob Iger spoke out in an interview about what he feels will need to be done as public conversation begins to shift to when and how non-essential businesses can reopen.
Iger spoke with KABC about the challenges that lay ahead; namely, finding ways to make people feel safe as a vaccine is still months to a year away from being approved for public use, saying: “Clearly, making people feel safe from getting the virus is the biggest obstacle and it’s clearly complicated… It’s not just about — as far as we know — social distancing. It’s about taking a number of steps, implementing a number of procedures to make sure that people feel safe.”
Increased hygiene is important to help fight the virus while still heading on a path back to economic normalcy, Iger added, “but it’s likely that we’re going to need some mass testing, at scale, and some form of contact tracing as well so that we can identify people who have been exposed or people who have had the virus and may be of harm to others.”
Also on Friday, the federal government released guidelines for a phased reopening of public venues like restaurants, movie theaters, and sports venues, which could pave the way to a phased (and somewhat limited) reopening of the Disney Parks, though earlier this week, California Governor Gavin Newsom said that public gatherings would be “unlikely” through August. Previously, Iger suggested that when the parks do reopen, guests could be subject to temperature screenings before entering.
KABC reports that over 80 people have been named to the task force. Iger joins Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with former Federal Reserve head Janet Yellin and former California Governors Gray Davis, Jerry Brown, Pete Wilson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the task force.
You can see Iger’s brief interview in the ABC7 post here.
Keep reading WDWNT for continuing coverage of this ongoing story.
Bob Iger and Michael Eisner have a master plan for Disney. All part of Eisner’s master plan hairpin turn, when in November 2019, Michael Eisner had announced his expansive partnership (TOPPS DISNEY) with the Walt Disney Company (which includes all Disney films & TV shows including Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and the Muppets — & — TOPPS-DISNEY is also tied into Disney+ streaming). — Michael Eisner has done this by first buying TOPPS, and this collaborating partnership is also herald by Disney on their D23 website. Michael Eisner has publicly declared this as being a “monumental moment”. Eisner also does the DAILY DISNEY on his Topps website. — Then February 25, 2020, Bob Iger sheds his CEO title – and yet is given a step up in the company. Meanwhile Bob Chapek’s previous position still remains as Bob Chapek’s position on the Disney website – all while Bob Iger is giving interviews and is pulling the strings of Chapek. Now in another publicity move – Bob Iger announces Chapek is on the Disney board. — There is more going on than what Disney – Iger & Eisner are telling you is going on.