Tucson, AZ - Following guidance from the White House, CDC, the recommendations from local and state public health authorities, and in consultation with the NPS Public Health Service Officers, Saguaro National Park will be temporarily closing the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center in the park’s east district, the Red Hills Visitor Center in the park’s west district, and suspending all public programming beginning Tuesday, March 17.
“We have been asked to limit gatherings of people to less than 10 at one time, according to Leah McGinnis, park Superintendent. “Our visitor centers and interpretive programs routinely have crowds larger than 10. By closing the visitor centers, we are helping to promote social distancing and reduce the spread of the COVID19 pandemic."
Restrooms and water fountains at the visitor centers will continue to be available. Trails will remain open and staff who would normally be working inside the buildings will be deployed out onto the trail system to greet visitors, while still maintaining appropriate distancing.
Superintendent McGinnis added, “We expect this temporary suspension to last 15 days and will reassess conditions at that time."
To further encourage social distancing, the park would like to encourage visitors to consider paying fees virtually by visiting https://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/payfeesonline.htm. The honor stations in front of the Red Hills Visitor Center and the Rincon Mountain fees station will be available for visitors to pay fees onsite.
The NPS Office of Public Health, Office of Risk Management, and the Division of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services, in conjunction with the Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Occupational Safety and Health and Office of Emergency Management (OEM), are responsible for managing and supporting activities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, and respond to such hazards. Over the last couple of weeks, they have been actively engaged and coordinating efforts to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NPS is implementing some temporary closures and modifications to operations to help protect employees, partners, volunteers, and visitors. To read more about the NPS response, including a service wide list of temporary closures and operational changes visit: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/public-health-update.htm
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Tags: covid-19
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
