NEWS: Florida Hits Another Big COVID-19 Milestone

As the situation with COVID-19 continues to change and develop, AllEars will be bringing you the latest relevant news that could affect a theme park visit.

During the pandemic, there have been a lot of changes at parks like Disney World and Universal Orlando. However, the biggest changes happened outside the theme parks, with the world changing in the face of this constantly evolving situation.

Today, we have an update about Florida’s COVID-19 cases and a recent milestone the state hit.

According to WFTV, Florida has become the third state, after California and Texas, to hit five million COVID-19 cases during the pandemic. As the Omicron variant reaches its peak in the United States, cases have been on the rise.

The weekly new positive COVID-19 test results for Florida from January 8th ©Orlando Sentinel

In Orange County (the same county where Disney World is located), they’re still waiting on 100,000 COVID-19 tests and 500 at-home tests from the state, which they hope will help get accurate statistics about COVID cases in the county. As of now, four out of every ten people in Orange County are testing positive for COVID-19.

An overall view of the tents being used for COVID-19 testing of Disney Cruise Line passengers at the Port Canaveral terminal in October 2021. [Chuck Schmidt]

On the other hand, vaccination numbers are on the rise, partially in response to the surge of infections and cases in Orange County. 73% of eligible residents have at least one dose and 89% of seniors older than 65 have also gotten vaccinated. Plus, a majority of recent vaccinations in the area have been booster shots, showing that people are getting fully vaccinated.

As a reminder, masks are currently required at all indoor locations in Disney World which includes indoor attractions, shops, and restaurants except when actively eating or drinking while stationary.

Sign with the latest face mask guidance in Disney World

Universal Orlando recently brought back its indoor mask mandate, so that masks are required on attractions, inside shops, and inside restaurants unless actively eating or drinking.

Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando Resort

Mask rules are constantly changing in the theme parks, so we’ll continue to bring you the latest updates on them.

Comparing Mask Rules at Disney World and Universal

We’re keeping track of all the latest COVID-19 updates that could affect your next trip! Stay tuned here for more info, we’ll keep you posted about everything you need to know.