Masks Required Indoors at Disney Parks Again?
Will masks be required indoors at Disney parks again?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to recommend that fully vaccinated people begin wearing masks indoors again in places with high COVID-19 transmission rates. That recommendation could come as early as today.
Health officials believe people who are fully vaccinated are unlikely to transmit the virus. But they could have higher levels of the virus than they initially thought, so it’s better to be cautious.
What does this mean for Disney parks?
At Walt Disney World, masks are not required indoors or outdoors. At Disneyland, masks are required indoors for unvaccinated individuals. Disneyland is in Orange County, which does not have the same indoor mask mandate like Los Angeles recently implemented.
Precautions for delta variant
The updated guidance comes ahead of the fall season. There are concerns that the delta variant, which is highly contagious, could cause another surge. This will be happening just as employees return to their offices and kids return to schools.
CDC to Reverse Indoor Mask Policy to Recommend Them for Fully Vaccinated People in Covid Hot Spots https://t.co/niyhN2nOvp
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) July 27, 2021
Concern in hot spots
The biggest concern is where vaccination rates are low. Florida has a double whammy – low vaccinations and coronavirus hot spots. A recent report says that one in five new COVID cases are coming from Florida.
The mayor of Orange County, Florida—where Orlando is located—declared today the major tourism destination is facing a Covid-19 “crisis” thanks to the Delta variant https://t.co/ta7GNstdkT pic.twitter.com/xz6pg7Jl49
— Forbes (@Forbes) July 27, 2021
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings held a news conference Monday. He has recommended residents wear face masks indoors in crowded settings—including the fully vaccinated—but is hamstrung from enacting an enforceable mask mandate or other measures by a state law that prohibits local and county governments from enforcing Covid-19 restrictions and imposing penalties on those who don’t comply.
LIVE: Orange County Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update | July 26, 2021 https://t.co/BkyxiJa4VI
— Orange County FL (@OrangeCoFL) July 26, 2021
We shall see how Disney reacts to the growing concern. We haven’t heard from chief medical officer Dr. Hymel in a while. Meanwhile, masks are on sale at shopDisney.
Per NBC Los Angeles, chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the CDC was considering whether to revise mask guidance for vaccinated Americans, saying it was “under active consideration.”
“It’s a dynamic situation. It’s a work in progress, it evolves like in so many other areas of the pandemic,” Fauci, also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN. “You’ve got to look at the data.”
The CDC’s guidance is only a recommendation, leaving it up to states and local officials on whether to reintroduce their mask rules for certain people. But even before the CDC’s anticipated guidance Tuesday, some regions were reintroducing mask mandates and advisories.
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