Workers say Disney is underreporting COVID-19 cases, clearing workers to go back too soon

A couple poses for a picture at Downtown Disney.
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Since reopening its Downtown Disney shopping complex in Anaheim, California, Disney has been underreporting the number of positive COVID-19 cases and letting employees who have been infected return to work sooner than health officials say is safe, several workers and spouses told The Daily Beast.

Disneyland and California Adventure remain closed, but Downtown Disney was allowed to reopen in early July. There are several hundred employees working there, and no on-site coronavirus testing; The Daily Beast reports that in a letter sent to the dozen unions representing employees, Disney Labor Relations Director Bill Pace said on-site coronavirus testing was "not viable" because of too many "false negatives."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.