Guests of some California theme parks must show proof of COVID vax beginning Oct 7; is Disneyland next?

During a meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday, a new Public Health Order was discussed and approved.

The new order would require individuals to show proof of vaccination before attending outdoor events where there are more than 10,000 people, so-called “mega events.”

According to the proposed order, “The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) will begin requiring verification of vaccination in select high-risk settings by October 7, 2021.”

The L.A. County Public Health Department is expected to issue a modified version of the order later this week that will also include the option to show proof of a negative COVID test within 72 hours of attending any outdoor “mega events.”

The current order already requires these measures before attending any indoor “mega events.”

Once the modified order is officially issued, it will require “customers and employees at bars, breweries, wineries, night clubs and lounges to have at least one dose of the vaccine by October 7 and both doses by November 4, 2021.”

“We in public health believe that targeted vaccination mandates are an important strategy for quickly raising vaccination coverage in our county and ending the pandemic,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of L.A. County Public Health. “We applaud our President, our Governor, our Board of Supervisors, our cities, and school districts, and business establishments across the county for creating additional safety in spaces where people are intermingling with the use of targeted vaccination mandates.”

She further stated that theme parks are included in the new order. Those affected include Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Disneyland is located in Orange County, so the L.A. County order has no jurisdiction over the California Disney park.

However, during the course of the pandemic, theme parks across the board have been affected, and it may be only a matter of time before Orange County follows suit, or before the governor’s office issues the same kind of mandate for the entire state.

If that happens, it means that Guests planning a day at Disneyland would have to submit proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result before being granted admission, presumably regardless of ticket or pass status.

Ferrer says that the mandate of vaccinations is important in

virus.

“Vaccination mandates are an increasingly important tool to prevent future COVID surges that cause widespread suffering,” she explained. “The modified Health Officer Order aligns with the continued need to reduce risk for transmission and increase vaccination coverage.”

Ferrer calls the mandate “a reasonable path forward that can position us to be better able to break the cycle of surges.”

The proposed order will also mandate that the requirement for vaccine verification extend to “customers and employees at indoor portions of bars, wineries, breweries, night clubs, and lounges.”

The Public Health Department has plans to create toolkits to help businesses confirm vaccinations. It will also assist with providing education and support to those entities as well as they work to remain compliant with the new order.