The National Park Service has announced that Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park are closed to all park visitors to prevent the spread of the CCP Virus, according to a news release issued on Tuesday, March 24.
NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
As indicated by the news release, health officials from the various local counties—including Park County and Teton County in Wyoming, and Park County and Gallatin County in Montana—requested that the parks modify their park operation.
“Effective immediately, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are closed to all park visitors until further notice. There will be no visitor access permitted to either park. State highways and/or roads that transcend park/state boundaries and facilities that support life safety and commerce will remain open. Both parks will cooperate on the implementation of the closures. We will notify the public when we resume full operations and provide updates on our website and social media channels,” the news release stated. The service did not indicate when the parks will reopen.
Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly and the Teton Acting Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail followed up with a statement regarding the closure of the parks, saying, “the National Park Service listened to the concerns from our local partners and, based on current health guidance, temporarily closed the parks. We are committed to continued close coordination with our state and local partners as we progress through this closure period and are prepared when the timing is right to reopen as quickly and safely as possible.”
In another alert from the National Park Service, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is located across the states of North Carolina and Tennessee, is also closed from Tuesday through to April 6, according to the service.
The alert stated that all park areas are closed aside from Foothills Parkway and the Spur will be closed starting 12 p.m. on Tuesday in order to cooperate with health officials to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Several other parks across the United States have closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as indicated by this list reported from USA Today.
