- Associated Press - Wednesday, June 10, 2020

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida says it will open its doors later this week for the first time since March, when coronavirus concerns forced it to close.

The casino resort in Hollywood, Florida, will open Friday with requirements that visitors wear face masks and get temperature checks upon entering.

Some table games are being retrofitted with plexiglass shields and gaming chips will be sprayed with a sanitizing solution. Capacity will be limited to 50% and guests and workers are expected to maintain social distancing, according to new guidelines.

The resort says all of its properties have been equipped with air purification and disinfecting systems.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney World officials outlined new hotel protocols as they prepare to reopen resorts next month.

The company said it would devote extra cleaning to high-traffic areas such as elevators, escalators, handrails, benches and restrooms. Restaurants and fitness centers will have limits on the number of people allowed in, and cashless options will be emphasized at shops and restaurants, the company said.

The COVID-19 outbreak shuttered a huge swath of Florida’s economy, and officials are gradually trying to get the state back to business.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that nearly $1.3 billion in federal funds would be heading to counties across the state to help them recover from the financial strains spawned by the outbreak.

The money announced Wednesday is intended for the state’s smaller counties with populations below 500,000. The state had earlier announced that it was distributing nearly $2.5 billion to the state’s more populated counties, as part of the $2 trillion CARES Act approved by Congress in March.

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