Florida releases data on variants
State moves on info day after Orlando Sentinel sues for it
Mutated strains of COVID-19 have reached 41 of Florida’s 67 counties, infecting hundreds of residents, including a 97-yearold woman and a 2-year-old boy, according to data released to the Orlando Sentinel late Friday by the state Department of Health.
The disclosure came one day after the newspaper filed a lawsuit against the agency for allegedly violating Florida’s public records law and the state’s constitution. For 57 days, the state withheld information on the variant cases, despite numerous requests from Orlando Sentinel reporters and attorneys.
“We are happy the state is finally complying with the law and releasing this important information so that citizens
is why even for visitors and residents, we still urge the pandemic precautions while we try to build this immunity in our community,” said Alvina Chu, epidemiology program manager at the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
It’s not just Disney that has seen a steady flow of guests.
Universal Orlando’s theme parks have regularly hit the maximum of their limited capacity this week.
At Legoland, hotel occupancy over four weeks of spring break is the highest it’s been since the reopening, even bigger than Christmas.
Gatorland’s leader sees more out-of-state license plates appearing in the parking lot as nearly 2,500 visitors arrive every day.
And Osceola County’s Boggy Creek, airboats churn out 20% more rides daily with more people going through the turnstiles. It costs more in gas, but it’s what the park has to do to keep rides socially distant with more visitors coming through the turnstiles.
“We’re slowly but gradually growing our tourism back every day,” said Margaret Bryan, who owns Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures. “Spring break has started.”
Most of Bryan’s 42 employees are back to work at the restaurant and airboat rides.
The recovery is also good news for Legoland, which is in hiring mode and has plans for expansions in the works.
“We’ve been bringing employees back since we reopened on June 1,” said Rex Jackson, Legoland Florida Resort’s general manager. “Currently, we are actually hiring for 225 positions, so we are eyes on the future.”
Disney is reporting a 17% increase on traffic on its planDisney website compared with last year, which seems to indicate more people are thinking about vacations. Already, it’s tough to snag a last-minute Disney World theme park reservation this week.
Disney declined to answer detailed questions about its spring break attendance, but spokeswoman Erica Ettori said in a statement, “We are encouraged by what our guests are telling us about the experiences in our parks and resorts with our focus on health and safety.
“With the power of our brand and the magic of our cast members, we remain optimistic that even better days are ahead.”
Gatorland’s CEO Mark McHugh couldn’t be happier with Disney’s busier crowds, which are still capped at 35% of park capacity.
“We’re the little dog here. We run around the big dogs’ feet trying to pick up crumbs. And they don’t let many crumbs drop, that’s for sure,” McHugh said. “But when they’re having these capacity limits that they are, that works out great for the smaller attractions because people are looking for something else to do.”
A year into the pandemic, people are eager to leave their homes and do something fun. But even as the “light at the end of the tunnel” appears with a vaccine rollout underway, “We’re in that transition period, where the challenge is people wanting to go faster than they should,” said theme park analyst John Gerner, managing director of Virginia’s Leisure Business Advisors.
At Orlando’s theme parks, visitors are still required to wear masks regardless even if they have received the vaccine. Employees hold signs, reminding to keep the masks on for photos and to keep apart.
“I think Disney is doing as good a job as you can expect,” Gerner said.
But he also warned it’s impossible to eliminate all the problems, like visitors not being mindful of the markers on the ground and bunching up a little close during the ride line.
“People aren’t paying attention to it,” Gerner said. “You’re giving people instructions on what to do even when it’s in their own interest is always going to be a challenge when people are just there wanting a good time and they’re just not thinking straight.”
With theme park crowds in town, what Disney and other park operators face only gets tougher, Gerner said. Kinsey Doerr, 26, who works at Space Mountain, is used to dealing with upset parents who are ticked off their children are too short to meet the ride requirement. Now in coronavirus times, she sees people angry over something new: Being required to cover up their noses and mouths with masks.
“We’re especially dealing with a lot of angry guests because they have so much more to be angry about,” said Doerr, who spoke at a Friday press conference urging the state to allow theme park workers to get vaccinated. “People don’t want to wear their masks.”