Theme parks including Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood may be able to reopen at reduced capacity beginning April 1, California health officials announced Friday.
Following the announcement, the Disney company said the state’s residents can expect Disneyland and California Adventure to open soon, according to People.
“We are encouraged that theme parks now have a path toward reopening this spring, getting thousands of people back to work and greatly helping neighborhood businesses and our entire community,” said Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock.
“With responsible Disney safety protocols already implemented around the world, we can’t wait to welcome our guests back and look forward to sharing an opening date soon,” he continued.
To reopen for guests, the parks’ respective counties must meet coronavirus metrics related to positive case counts under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy guidelines, the People article continued:
Once the county has reached the red tier — meaning it is reporting 4 to 7 daily new COVID cases per 100,000 residents or 5 to 8 percent positivity rate — the parks will be able to open their doors at 15 percent capacity. As case rates continue to drop, the permitted theme park capacity rises up to 35 percent. There is no guidance for reopening at a higher capacity at this time. For now, the state says that “attendance will be limited to in-state visitors.”
Other theme parks such as Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain will also be permitted to welcome a limited number of guests, according to ABC News.
“In addition to Disneyland, the state will allow limited fans at Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium as the baseball season gets underway next month. Ballparks will be allowed to operate at 20% capacity starting April 1,” the outlet said.
On February 26, the United States Supreme Court ordered a California county to allow five churches to hold indoor services, adding to a string of orders curbing the powers of government officials battling the spread of the coronavirus.
“The Supreme Court acted even though the county said in a February 25 letter that it was planning to ease the restrictions next week as long as Covid rates continue to decline,” Breitbart News reported.