Could Orange County, FL Be Looking To Relax COVID Restrictions Soon?
Orange County (which is home to Disney World, Universal and Sea World) may be looking to ease up on COVID-19 restrictions now that a fourth of residents have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
According to a recent piece that appeared in the Bradenton Herald, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the plan could reduce occupancy restrictions on businesses and loosen social distancing and mask requirements. However, its expected that it won’t wipe out the mayors existing order requiring masks in public.
“That doesn’t mean that nobody will be requested or required to wear facial coverings,” Demings said. “I think we’re a few months away from that.” The mayor went on to say that an updates to COVID-19 restrictions will be based on advice from local epidemiologists as well as CDC and public health data on vaccination and infection rates.
However, it should be noted that CDC data for Orange County suggests that over the course of the past week, new COVID-19 cases have increased by 14% and deaths have increased by 44%. Those testing positive has gone up by 6.7% with testing volume dropping by 7.5%
Demings advised that any changes made would be done in phases and could impact both a business’ indoor and outdoor capacity.
In Orange County more than half of residents over the age of 40 have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccination. About 27% of the population in the county has received one shot according to the mayor. However, it should be noted that experts advise that 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated for herd immunity to be achieved.
Demings had previously said that he would be keeping the mandate in place until half the county was vaccinated.
This is a story that we’ll continue to follow closely here at MickeyBlog. Readers are encouraged to keep following along with us for further news and updates.
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