The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has announced new guidelines which recommend that those who are fully vaccinated resume wearing masks when indoors in areas of high transmission. Florida is currently a COVID-19 hotspot and rated at the highest level of transmission by the CDC, with 20% of the nation's cases being reported in the state.
This is a reversal of the decision made two months ago where the CDC said that those who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks in any setting.
Disney moved quickly to follow the relaxed CDC guidelines at that time, and Walt Disney World rapidly became a mostly mask-free environment, even though many guests are likely not fully vaccinated.
Orange County is seeing a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases, prompting the Orange County Mayor to say yesterday, "We're now in crisis mode." Current numbers of new cases are similar to January 2021, before the vaccine was widely available. More than 1000 new cases are being reported daily, and testing sites are hitting capacity early in the afternoon. AdventHealth, the area's primary healthcare provider, has said its ICUs are at capacity, and the system has moved to a red alert level.
With Orange County facing significant barriers imposed by the state governor to introduce a new mask mandate, it may fall to Disney to act on CDC guidelines alone.
Disney is yet to make any comment or change its mask policy, but based on previous CDC guidance, it would seem likely that Disney will have to respond in the coming days.
Disney's current mask policy is: "While face coverings are required for all Guests while in Disney buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner, they are now optional in most areas for Guests who are fully vaccinated. While we do not require proof of vaccination, we expect Guests who are not fully vaccinated to continue wearing face coverings in all indoor locations and upon entering and throughout all attractions and transportation except ferry boats. "
While it seems likely that Disney will have to revise its mask policy, it will be interesting to see if the company moves to mandatory masking indoors or simply to a recommendation that masks are worn indoors.
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