State rules likely to delay theme parks’ reopening
LOS ANGELES – California health officials issued theme park rules Tuesday that make it clear Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and other top attractions won’t reopen anytime soon.
The guidelines require that large theme parks can’t open until the county in which they are situated reaches the highest of four tiers when it comes to COVID-19 spread. As might be expected, the plan brought an immediate rebuke from Disneyland’s top official as unfair, unworkable and sure to keep the park shut.
Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm are in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, which is in the third category, labeled “substantial.” Universal Studios Hollywood is in Los Angeles County, which is in the lowest category, “widespread.”
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of Health and Human Services, said the guidelines are realistic, noting that San Francisco County achieved the highest level. That level requires there be less than one case a day per 100,000 residents and a testing positivity rate of less than 2%.
“We believe it is possible, and San Francisco is a great case in point,” he said, though it requires “a lot of work” and “a lot of vigilance.”
But Disneyland President Ken Potrock issued a statement blasting the state’s new rules as “mandating arbitrary guidelines that it knows are unworkable and that hold us to a standard vastly different from other reopened businesses and state-operated facilities.”
He acknowledged the rules won’t allow Disneyland, Orange County’s largest employer, to reopen anytime soon.
“These state guidelines will keep us shuttered for the foreseeable future, forcing thousands more people out of work, leading to the inevitable closure of small family-owned businesses, and irreparably devastating the Anaheim/ Southern California community,” Potrock said.
When large theme parks are allowed to reopen, they will be limited to 25% capacity.
California created a separate set of guidelines for smaller attractions, allowing them to reopen at the “moderate” level, but only with outdoor attractions and also only at 25% capacity.
Gov. Gavin Newsom indicated during his weekly news conference Monday that it was important to recognize differences in the nature of different theme parks.
California’s approach is markedly different than what has occurred in Florida. California’s Orange County reported coronavirus cases at a rate of 37 cases per week per 100,000 people for the week of Oct. 13-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Orange County, Florida, home to Disney World, reported coronavirus cases at a rate of 101 cases per week per 100,000 people for the same period. That’s nearly three times California’s infection rate, and yet Florida has allowed theme parks there to remain open while California’s remain shuttered.