NEWS: Florida’s Orange County Declares State of Emergency

UPDATE: The State of Emergency in Orange County, Florida was allowed to expire on October 27th. See more details here.

Recently, there has been a growing concern surrounding the rise in COVID-19 cases related to the Delta variant across the U.S.

Former Face Mask Signage at Disney World

The CDC recently updated its guidance to recommend that all people (regardless of vaccination status) wear face masks in areas where there is a “high” or “substantial” transmission of COVID-19. Currently, Florida is considered a “high transmission” area, and cases in Orange County (where Disney World and Universal Orlando are located) are on the rise. And, the county’s Mayor has responded by issuing a new executive order.

In a News Conference held today, Florida’s Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings announced that he has signed an executive order declaring a local state of emergency. In his statement, he shared that he will “now urge our residents and visitors, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to wear a mask when in an indoor space with others.”

Former Disney World safety signage

The mask policy currently stands as a recommendation rather than a requirement and the executive order will be in effect for the next 7-days (though it could be extended).

Update: Orange County, Florida Mayor Demings has extended the state of emergency a number of times over the past several weeks. Currently, the state of emergency has been extended through October 27th. We’ll keep an eye out for more updates.

There’s a new recommendation based on recent case numbers.

In addition to the executive order, Demings has also issued an internal order requiring Orange County employees to wear a mask when indoors at local government facilities and is “asking other businesses to follow our lead.”

Former Health and Safety Signage at Disney World

Demings was also asked if he is officially recommending that theme parks (including Walt Disney World, Universal, and SeaWorld) update their mask policies and he shared that he “expects the theme parks to follow the CDC recommended guidelines.” Disney World has recently changed its mask requirements and is now requiring masks indoors for all guests, regardless of vaccination status. You can click here to see the latest updates. Universal Orlando is encouraging (but not requiring) masks indoors.

Crowds at Disney World

COVID-19 case rates are at an all-time high in Orange County with 1,371 new cases reported yesterday and a 14-day positivity rate of 15.58% (compared to a 3% positivity rate just 6 weeks ago). And, hospitals are seeing a rise in patients as well.

According to Demings, AdventHealth has been seeing the fastest increase in COVID patients since the pandemic began last year with around 95% of people hospitalized being unvaccinated.

©Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Currently, the vaccination rate in the county stands at 62.34% of people ages 12 and up, but the mayor is urging more community members to get vaccinated.

©Jeff Vahle

Of course, we will keep an eye out for more updates from Orange County and the area theme parks, so be sure to stay tuned to AllEars for the latest!

Learn More About the New CDC Recommendations Here!

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