Mayor Jerry Demings outlines new directives to control surging cases of COVID-19 in Orange County with new Executive Order

Jul 28, 2021 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Posted: Wednesday July 28, 2021 4:54pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has this afternoon outlined his plans to bring control to the surging COVID-19 Delta variant in the community.

There were 1371 new cases of COVID-19 reported yesterday in Orange County - an all time high since the pandemic began. The 14-day positivity rate is now 15.58%, a new record, and four times higher than it was June 16. Vaccination levels in the community stand at 62.34%.

Demings went on to say that area hospitals are facing a crisis. AdventHealth is seeing the fastest rate of new patients since the pandemic began.

An Executive Order has been signed by the Mayor declaring a local emergency, and Demings has urged residents and visitors to wear a mask when in an indoor space with others - following yesterday's new CDC guidelines. He pleaded with businesses, including the theme parks, to mandate vaccinations for employees and that both employees and patrons wear masks when indoors.

When asked specifically about Walt Disney World, Demings said that he expects all of the area's theme parks to follow the new CDC guidelines.

We may soon see a return of masks at Walt Disney World

Disney is yet to make any comment or change its mask policy, but based on today's briefing from Orange County and yesterday's CDC guidance, it would seem very likely that Disney will have to respond in the coming days.

Discuss on the Forums

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wdwmagicApr 14, 2022

This thread is going to take a break for a while until any changes are announced at Disney in regard to the last remaining mask requirements on transport.

Andrew CApr 14, 2022

If we are talking about WDW, put the blame on the company for keeping this silly rule in place. For airplanes, put the blame on the feds. When people realize stupid rules are in place and have no impact, they are going to be challenged. That’s just human nature and the reality throughout history. On the other end, when rules tend to make sense, people are more receptive. WDWs transportation rule is illogical. The feds 14 day extension of the public transportation rule at this point is the same. Expect more push back. It’s all about appearances than anything else and more and more people will pick up on that.

Chip ChippersonApr 14, 2022

No, you're not following the rules. You're planning the mask version of holding your finger an in from your siblings face and saying, "I'm not touching you!" And for the record, on my recent flights, the message was that masks had to be replaced between bites/sips, so unless you plan on holding g a drink to your mouth for the entire flight then you're not following the rules - but if you do that, please report back and let us know of how that worked out for you during turbulence.

Club CooloholicApr 14, 2022

I already explained it. It slows things down and makes it harder for the employees. And some might not really want to sit for 3 hours on a flight next to a guy sipping coffee the whole time.

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

I don’t understand why you’re mad at me.

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

There. Fixed the stupid. Now, go create ANOTHER account for me to ignore. :rolleyes:

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

Thanks for understanding

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

Okay.

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

God bless, but no thank you.

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

They are flag carriers for the socially inept and the self-important. They have one job here. It's stupid but they're going to do it.

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

Just go back to your regular account. Please? For everyone.

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

What can I say? I’m so lonely at this stage in my life, that the (virtual) company of people who hate me is better than the alternative, which is no company at all.

DisneyCaneApr 14, 2022

Hence why I asked the poster if they were intending to only experience outdoor attractions with outdoor queues. If yes, then I can at least understand their logic. If no, then the obsession about people not masking on transportation doesn't make any sense.