NEWS: State of Emergency Set to End Soon in Orange County, FL

As the global pandemic continues, there has been a variety of different requirements at Florida theme parks.

There is still an indoor mask requirement at Disney World

When Disney World and Universal first reopened, masks were required almost everywhere. Now, both resorts have different requirements, with Disney World only requiring masks indoors and on transportation, and Universal making masks indoors optional. The mask requirements have changed multiple times due to the more recent high numbers of COVID-19 case rates, as well as guidance from the local government and the CDC. But now, the county in which both resorts are located has an update on their current status.

During a press conference today, Orange County, Florida Mayor Jerry Demings announced he is lifting the local state of emergency. The order will be allowed to expire Wednesday afternoon at 3:04PM.

@OrangeCoFL via Twitter

The mayor noted that the COVID-19 positivity rate in the county has been down at 3.51% for the past 14 days. He said this is due to the high number of residents who have been vaccinated and the wearing of masks along with other safety measures.

Health & Safety Signage in Hollywood Studios

The local state of emergency has been in effect since July 28th, 2021. Mayor Demings noted that there wasn’t a county-wide mandate in effect due to the governor suspending all local covid orders. So, the expiration of the local state of emergency means it will be up to individual employers to decide how they want to keep their workers and patrons safe.

Mask signage

The mayor said Orange County facilities (indoors) will continue to require wearing of facial coverings for county employees until the CDC moves county from substantial risk of transmission to moderate. Orange County is where Universal Orlando Resort and the majority of Walt Disney World Resort is located.

Universal Studios mask

Mayor Demings continued on to say that, “If there would ever be another deadly wave of cases here in our county, I reserve the right to put the executive order back in place to make sure we do everything possible to slow the spread.” Then, he thanked residents for taking the pandemic seriously by getting full vaccinated and wearing masks.