NY Stock Exchange reopens with traders signing 'death waiver'

After being shut down for more than two months, the New York Stock Exchange’s trading floor partially reopened on Tuesday, with traders signing a waiver that they are aware that returning to work could lead to "contracting Covid-19, respiratory failure, death..." The Wall Street Journal reports.

The waiver is not being made public, but NYSE President Stacey Cunningham acknowledged that it is necessary, as traders are not actually stock exchange employees and cannot be told to stay away.

“Stocks trade better when the floor is open, with reduced volatility and fairer prices,” she wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “Recent data demonstrate that our trading floor saves investors millions of dollars each day by making transactions more efficient.”

Rules will limit how many traders can be in the building at any one time; traders will have their temperatures taken at the entrances; and they will be questioned regarding symptoms they may be feeling. Social distancing will also be obligatory.