Disney World will require customers to wear masks indoors and on public transit starting Friday, after the CDC recommend indoor-mask mandates in areas experiencing spikes in COVID-19 cases.
The Orlando-area theme park had eased mask requirements for vaccinated guests after the federal health agency told inoculated Americans they could ditch masks indoors in May.
Disney announced it was walking back the policy on its website Wednesday night.
“Beginning July 30, face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) while indoors and in Disney buses, monorail and Disney Skyliner, regardless of vaccination status. This includes upon entering and throughout all attractions. Face coverings remain optional for all Guests in outdoor common areas,” the new guidelines said.
On Monday, the mayor of Florida’s Orange County — where Disney and Universal Studios is located — warned at a press conference that the region is in “crisis mode,” as COVID-19 cases surged.
“These numbers are extraordinary. We are seeing nearly 1,000 new cases in Orange County daily. Those are the numbers we saw at the highest peak last year,” Democratic Mayor Jerry Demings warned, adding Florida accounts for 20 percent of all new US cases.