Disney workers won’t stay in NBA bubble — and many live in coronavirus hot spots

Many of the Walt Disney World workers who will be cleaning hotel rooms, preparing meals and providing other services for NBA players confined to a “bubble” on the resort’s property will be commuting from some of the hottest coronavirus infection zones in greater Orlando.

Of the 20 Central Florida ZIP codes with the most Disney workers represented by union Unite Here, half rank in the region’s top 30 ZIPs for confirmed COVID-19 cases, an Orlando Sentinel analysis shows. More than 8,600 Disney workers live in those ZIP code areas.

The 32824 ZIP code that includes Meadow Woods and Southchase has 476 coronavirus cases, the second-most of the seven-county area analyzed by the Sentinel, and is home to 712 unionized Disney workers. The Kissimmee-area ZIP code 34741, which has reported 467 cases, the fourth most in the region, is home to 1,145 workers.

Unite Here officials, who represent nearly 30,000 workers at the parks, say the planned procedures will keep their workers safe during the anticipated three months of NBA play at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex as well as the Major League Soccer tournament set to start there next week.

“We’re confident that we negotiated an agreement that provides the maximum safety possible in the less than ideal world we’re present in,” said Jeremy Haicken, president of Unite Here Local 737, which represents 19,000 food and beverage workers and housekeepers.

Union officials say they know of only a couple workers who have tested positive so far and neither case was linked to Disney, which closed its parks March 16 and will begin to reopen them on July 11.

The NBA and MLS are both preparing to begin playing in Orlando as the virus has accelerated its spread across the community. The number of cases in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties doubled in a little more than a week’s time from about 8,300 to more than 16,000 on the last day of June.

NBA players and staff will be kept as insulated as possible from exposure to the virus with a strict protocol set up by the league. Friends and family won’t be allowed to visit for weeks at a time. Players and staff will undergo multiple virus tests and near constant health monitoring. They are being ordered to follow strict social distancing guidelines and wear masks when off the court.

There are protections in place for Disney workers, too. They will be required to undergo health screenings and temperature checks, wear protective gear and social distance from each other and, in most instances, will be prohibited from coming into contact with NBA personnel.

The potential hole in the bubble, though, is that workers will come and go from the resort. There are 5,795 workers, according to the Sentinel analysis, who live in ZIPs in Orange and Osceola counties with more than 350 confirmed virus cases since the pandemic started.

Disney and the Florida Department of Health are still working out a testing protocol.

The health department is in talks with Disney about opening a drive-through style virus test site nearby for resort employees, said Dr. Raul Pino, the health officer for the department in Orange County.

“We’re working on the details because it also cannot tax our resources for the community,” he said.

Mike Bass, an NBA spokesman, confirmed the league is working with Disney on testing “a subset of their employees.”

Disney’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pam Hymel said in a statement the resort has also altered work practices to allow for more physical distancing among employees along with other safety protocols.

In addition, the NBA plan requires NBA personnel to comply with local contact tracing — a technique used by public health officials to control outbreaks by quickly identifying who infected people have been in contact with. And Disney says it has a process to respond to any cases among its staff.

Pino said he’s spoken to both the NBA and MLS several times as plans evolved. The leagues, he said, had questions about hospital availability if an injured player needed surgery or other care. And Pino said he had questions about how the NBA and MLS would build a robust testing network without taking tests away from local residents.

He said he thinks the plans will work, though he won’t be surprised to see positive cases emerge.

“I think it’s going to be successful. I think the main issue we may face is if there is transmission between teams,” Pino said. “I expressed that to them. Getting a case here or there won’t be [a major problem], because that’s expected.”

Disney and its union have outlined a number of precautions for workers.

Disney and the unions also agreed that a worker who tests positive for the virus will be paid for sick time that won’t count against normally accrued hours. In addition, any worker with a fever of 100.4 or higher will get the day off, Haicken said.

“Those are very significant economic provisions that I believe create a safe work environment. It eliminates the pressures to come to work sick,” Haicken said.

Prior to arriving for work, an employee is required to check their temperature at home with a company-issued thermometer as well as assess themselves for symptoms of the virus, said Eric Clinton, president of the Unite Here Local 362 union, which represents about 8,000 attractions workers and custodial staff. Upon arrival at work, their supervisor will also check their temperature and check for symptoms.

Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious disease expert at the Mayo Clinic, said any one measure on its own won’t be enough to protect workers or anyone else from the virus. But, together, masks, gloves, symptom screening, temperature checks and good hygiene provide a thorough safety net.

“Could we introduce a web of interventions, though each one separately is insufficient, but in total, provide enough safety to reduce risk and raise the benefit?” said Poland, who hasn’t reviewed specific plans for Disney workers. “There’s a safe way to do it and an unsafe way to do it, if they do it safely and supervised — I think it can be done.”

The NBA is sending 22 teams to Orlando divided among three Disney hotels: the Grand Floridian, the Gran Destino and the Yacht Club, to play eight regular-season contests starting at the end of July. Those games will be followed by regular league playoffs scheduled to end with crowning a new champion Oct. 13.

Games will be televised from the Wide World of Sports with empty stands. Players will train on practice courts at the ESPN complex and hotels.

The NBA developed a 113-page health protocol dated June 16. A copy of the plan obtained by the Orlando Sentinel leaves few details for players and staff uncovered.

It reveals the steps for disinfecting basketballs (wash with a solution of 1/4 teaspoon dish detergent per gallon of water, air dry, spray with disinfectant) and says that players who eat with players from another team can only do so outside and from a distance. Golf, video games, ping pong and other activities will be provided for players in their off hours, but the guidelines prohibit golf caddies or sharing equipment such as video gaming headsets as well as playing doubles ping pong to avoid close contact.

There are also some rules for how NBA personnel handle their interactions with Disney workers.

“To minimize risk of transmission of the coronavirus, Disney will implement processes (and train cast members on those processes) requiring use of facemasks or face coverings, as well as physical distancing rules intended to keep Disney cast members from being in the same room at the same time as a player or team staff member unless required (and, if required, a cast member must maintain at least six feet of distance at all times),” reads one section.

MLS teams have already begun reporting to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, to play a tournament spanning 54 matches over 33 days, also at Wide World of Sports. The professional soccer league will be in town for a shorter period of time: July 8-23.

Richard Lapchick, director of the DeVos Sport Business Management program at UCF, said the return of the NBA has been carefully crafted with contingencies in place in case conditions change. Lapchick, who has spoken to league officials about their plans, said he’s confident they can pull it off even as Florida continues to set records with daily new virus case counts.

“I think they have to be prepared, especially with the current situation in Florida and Central Florida in general … that something could go wrong,” Lapchick said. “It’s a high risk, but I think they’re minimizing the high risk as much as they can.”

Jeff Weiner of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect geographic description of the 32824 ZIP code.