Mask Mandate Will Be Lifted Tomorrow in Florida's Orange County

Last month, Orange County announced its phased approach for reducing physical distancing measures and face mask mandates.

New Disney Face Mask

The phases are set up to progressively loosen mandates as more are vaccinated in the county. And, just a few days ago, the county reached a 50% vaccination rate, which meant that they could enter Phase 2, no longer requiring that face masks be worn outdoors. And, it seems that Phase 3 may begin sooner than expected.

When Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings originally laid out the plans for the three-phased approach, there were requirements for both vaccination rate and positivity rate in order to move to the next phase. So, in order to progress to Phase 3, either 70% of the county’s population 16 and up needed to be vaccinated or they needed to reach a 14-day rolling positivity rate of 5% or below.

Source: Florida Department of Health in Orange County

And, it appears that the county has reached one half of the milestone. According to the Florida Department of Health’s website, Orange County has reported a COVID-19 positivity rate of 5% or below from May 4th to 17th, a 14-day period.

BREAKING: @OCFLMayor announces as of today, no longer under a local state of emergency.

By tomorrow, DOH projections indicate reaching 14 day rolling positivity rate of 5% or below.

Then will go into phase 3, lifting all mandates. #News13Orange https://t.co/EWQxivOEFx

— JSotoNews13 (@JSotoNews13) June 4, 2021

This means that they now qualify to advance into Phase 3 in which all county-wide mandates would be lifted, including face mask and social distancing guidelines.

Source: Florida Department of Health in Orange County

Currently, the county is following orders for Phase 2 so masks are required to be worn when indoors and not actively eating or drinking and physical distancing of three feet is encouraged.

Disney World Resort Health and Safety Signs

Keep in mind that both Disney World and Universal Orlando set their own mandates for masks and physical distancing, so a change to the Orange County guidelines does not necessarily translate directly into updates in the theme parks.

New Face Mask Signage at Disney World

Demings has not yet announced that the county has advanced into the final phase, though that may be coming soon according to the recent milestone. We will continue to keep an eye out for updates, so stay tuned to AllEars for the latest!