Theme Parks, Movie Theaters In LA And OC On Track To Open Further Soon – Deadline
los angeles and orange counties could further reopen in two weeks, with disneyland and other theme parks in the region allowed to open at 25% capacity instead of 15%, movie theaters would go past 25% current at 50% capacity and restaurants do the same for indoor dining.
According to figures released by the state on Tuesday, l.a. The county’s adjusted daily rate of new Covid-19 cases is 4.1 per 100,000 population, down from 5.2 per 100,000 last week. The county officially entered the red tier Monday of the state’s four-tier plan for a safer economy, which governs business restrictions during the pandemic. county rankings in the plan are based on daily new case rates and the rate of people testing positive for the virus. Los Angeles County’s seven-day average of positive tests is now 2%, according to the state.
theaters can now also operate concession stands, according to l.a. county health department guidance: “customers should be reminded that eating/drinking is only permitted in a designated dining area or while patrons are seated in their reserved seats in the theater, with a distance of 6 feet from those who are not members of your household. Eating or drinking anywhere else while on the premises or on the premises of the establishment is prohibited.”
California theme parks will be able to reopen on April 1 at 15% capacity for counties in the red tier, according to a recent announcement by Governor Gavin Newsom. if those counties are in orange, then the allowed capacity increases to 25%. They have been closed for over a year. With the test positivity rate now falling to 4.1 per 100,000 residents, L.A. is within striking distance of possibly advancing to the next level, orange. to enter that level, a region must have a daily case rate of 3.9 per 100,000 residents or better for two consecutive weeks. Getting to the orange tier would allow the county to remove all capacity limits at retail stores and malls, while increasing permitted capacity at other locations, such as museums, movie theaters, aquariums, churches, gyms and restaurants. the orange tier would also authorize the reopening of bars for outdoor service and limited indoor service at wineries and breweries. Falling case rates continue statewide, including in San Diego and Riverside counties, which qualified Tuesday to join Los Angeles and Orange counties in the red tier. as of Tuesday, only 11 of the state’s 58 counties still languished in the most restrictive purple tier of the economic reopening plan. over 85% of the state’s population is now in the red tier.
l.a. county health services director dr. Christina Ghaly noted Monday that while the number of hospitalizations continues to decline, it is falling at a slower rate than it has in recent weeks. She also said the county’s Covid transmission rate, which is the average number of people a Covid patient infects with the virus, rose slightly last week, reaching 0.87, up from 0.79. although the number has increased, it is still less than 1.0, which means that the spread of the virus is slowing down overall. if the number is greater than one, the total number of cases is expected to increase.
orange county, home to disneyland and knott’s berry farm, is about to meet the state’s metrics to move from the red tier to the orange tier. It will be April before that can happen, but Disneyland CEO Bob Chapek recently said the park plans to reopen “late April,” meaning it will likely be in the orange tier when it does. the latest Tuesday update from the state shows the O.C. improved from last Tuesday’s 3.2% to 2.2%, and the adjusted case rate per 100,000 people over a seven-day average with a seven-day lag improved from 6 to 4. the equity quartile rate in county health, which measures positivity at hotspots in disadvantaged communities, improved from 4.1% last week to 3.5%. that puts the county just one-tenth away from reaching the threshold for the orange tier for the case rate. If the trend continues, the county could move into the orange tier on April 7, just a few days after Easter. The county reported 23 cases of covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the cumulative to 248,904, and no deaths, keeping the death toll at 4,486. hospitalizations fell from 233 on Monday to 216 on Tuesday, and intensive care unit patients dropped from 72 to 62.
“Our number of hospitalizations and ICUs are down today, so that’s good,” said orange county executive director frank kim. state officials have indicated that the county will continue to receive its usual allocation of vaccine doses.
“we need more vaccines. I’m ready to open my next capsule” to dispense doses, Kim said. the county has vaccinated about 1 million people, which is just under a third of the county’s population. orange county moved from the purple tier to the least restrictive red tier of the state’s coronavirus regulatory system on sunday, allowing larger crowds at retail stores and the reopening of museums, movie theaters and indoor dining at restaurants with limited capacity .
Both counties had been preparing to move from the more restrictive purple tier to the red tier next Wednesday, but the schedule was moved up Sunday as the state met its goal of vaccinating 2 million Californians in disadvantaged communities where it has spread. the coronavirus. more broadly. the red tier allows many more businesses and organizations to reopen. for example, retail stores can allow half capacity instead of 25%, and museums, zoos, and aquariums can reopen for indoor activities at 25% capacity, as can movie theaters, gyms, and restaurants. wineries, breweries and distilleries can reopen for outdoor business only. County officials are concerned about a spike in cases over spring break as some residents relax as vaccines run out.
“We had a meeting the other day where we were concerned about making sure we weren’t going to have a second wave with people maybe feeling a little too free from the lifting of restrictions,” Kim said. Andrew Noymer, professor of population health and disease prevention at UC Irvine, said spring break is a bit of a concern, but the pace of vaccinations can help mitigate the impact.
“I’m not crazy about spring break right now, but… it’s not automatic, it’s going to be a calamity,” noymer said. “if we have another wave in the us. uu. in the same way as germany and italy, spring breakers can still be accused of complicity after the fact.”
