The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange partially reopened on Tuesday (May 26) after closing down due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 23. As roughly one-quarter of the traders return to work, they will have to wear masks and follow strict social distancing guidelines.
Traders will be asked to refrain from using public transportation to get to work and will have their temperatures checked when they arrive. The trading floor will be a little less chaotic, with fewer people running around as stocks are bought and sold. Traders will have to maintain social distancing and will be barred from shaking hands with their co-workers. Plexiglass barriers were installed to make it easier for traders to keep their distance while they are running around on the floor.
Traders will not be required to return, but many seem eager to get back to work. In order to return to the trading floor, they will have to sign a liability waiver, acknowledging that they could die if they contract COVID-19.
"Our reopened floor will look different from the iconic images so many have grown accustomed to seeing televised throughout the trading day," NYSE President Stacey Cunningham wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
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