In a press conference yesterday, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings gave an update on the timeframe that he expects to relax the mask mandate currently in place in the county.
First, let’s take a minute to clearly state that Disney World implemented a mask mandate before the county did last summer. Disney has, rather consistently, met and exceeded local, state, and national health guidelines throughout the phased reopening of the theme parks following their shutdown due to COVID-19. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what Demings said about the county mandate.
Earlier this month, Demings said that it might be possible for the county to lift the mask mandate by June. Since then, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been removed from the market and COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in the county – two contributing factors in Demings recent update on lifting the mandatory face mask rule.
According to Demings, the county is now targeting a late Summer timeframe to remove the mask mandate, but he said that things like physical distancing could be removed earlier.
Removing physical distancing limitations before relaxing rules surrounding face masks would align with our earlier thoughts on what safety procedures Disney World might drop next. Also on the chopping block would be temperature checks. Disney World has already relaxed face mask rules when taking photos, and they have removed hand washing stations around their theme parks as well.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!