Orange County Mayor Jerry Demmings commented today on the county’s mask mandate, saying it will likely remain in effect until 50% of the population is vaccinated. He estimates this to be around July 2021.
The mandate, which was introduced in 2020, declares that every person in Orange County must wear a face covering, and businesses may deny entry to non-compliant customers. The mandate and its exceptions are available here.
Orange County, California’s COVID-19 cases have been steadily dropping. This week, the county met two out of three metrics needed before it could drop from the purple tier to the more relaxed red tier.
The share of COVID-19 tests coming back positive countywide and among hard-hit neighborhoods have both met the red tier goals for the past two weeks. The third metric, the rate of new COVID-19 cases by population, was just barely above the red tier threshold.
The county’s case rate was 11.9 per day per 100,000 residents last week. As of Tuesday, the rate was 7.6. A rate of 7 per 100,000 is needed to move into the red tier. The outlook is good that a rate of 7 could be reached next week.
All three metrics must then stay in their red tier ranges for two consecutive weeks for the tier to actually change. In the red tier, restaurants, movie theaters, and other indoor businesses could reopen with masking and physical distancing in place, which will be a good step for Downtown Disney District.
Orange County was in the red tier for a few weeks last fall before moving back into the purple tier in mid-November. A bill was recently passed in favor of Disneyland Resort reopening in the orange tier, or tier 3, after purple and red.
With the news of Disneyland Resort cancelling their previously announced July 17 reopening date due to the State of California, many guests are wondering what the future holds for Walt Disney World with Florida’s COVID-19 spikes.
CNN Business and Politics Corespondent, Cristina Alesci, took to Twitter to announce the following:
Alesci tweets: “JUST IN: An Orange County official tells me the county has no plans to revisit a decision to reopen Disney’s parks in Florida. “That decision rests with @Disney officials and the governor,” says a county spokesperson “
Walt Disney World is scheduled for their phased reopening beginning July 11 (Magic Kingdom & Animal Kingdom) and July 15 (EPCOT & Hollywood Studios). As Disney fans eagerly await the reopening, the number of cases of COVID-19 continue to reach record highs for the state.
To comply with Orange County’s new 10 p.m. curfew, effective today, Sunday, May 31 and until further notice, Disney Springs will be closing at 7 p.m., to allow cast members, operating participant employees, and guests time to return home.
Hours of operation may vary by location. For details, please call the restaurant or store you’d like to visit.
Orange County joins a number of counties across the state (like Miami-Dade County) who have instituted curfews due to the ongoing civil unrest and protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd. Disney released an official statement earlier today on the tragedy.
Prior to the curfew, hours for Disney Springs since the reopening have been 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. We expect hours to return to normal once the curfew is lifted.