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Credit: DisneyIf you’re making plans to travel to California this holiday season and New Year to visit Disneyland Resort and/or neighboring attractions and experiences, you’ll want to be sure to pack plenty of masks as a new mask mandate is going statewide on Wednesday.
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California has announced that the per capita rate of new COVID 19 cases in the state has jumped 47% in the past two weeks, prompting a new order returning the statewide mask mandate for all indoor locations.
According to the OCRegister, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced the new mandate will start Wednesday, December 15, and remain in place until January 15, 2022.
“We know people are tired and hungry for normalcy. Frankly, I am too,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday. “That said, this is a critical time where we have a tool that we know has worked and can work.”
“We know that there’s going to be people who don’t necessarily agree with this, who are tired, who aren’t going to mask,” Ghaly said. “We hope that those are few and far between, that most people see the purpose of doing this over the next month as something to protect them and their communities during a very tough time.”
“We are proactively putting this tool of universal indoor masking in public settings in place to ensure we get through a time of joy and hope without a darker cloud of concern and despair.” Ghaly said. “Californians have done this before, and we of course believe we can do it again.”
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While some organizations have already imposed their own indoor mask mandate with the increase of cases and Omicron variant, this new order being reinstated on Wednesday will enforce the mandate statewide.
Other states including Washington, Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii, and New York have similar indoor mask mandates. Florida has yet to announce if they will return an indoor mask mandate.
RELATED: Disney Park Makes Big Changes to Its Mask Policy
Disneyland Resort’s mask mandate requires masks indoors regardless of vaccination status. The face covering policy currently remains as follows:
Face coverings are required for all Guests (ages 2 and up) in all indoor locations, regardless of vaccination status. This includes upon entering and throughout many attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, including shuttles and buses. Face coverings remain optional for Guests in outdoor common areas.
While Guests will not be required to show proof of vaccination, all Guests must attest that they are aware that: 1) the State of California strongly recommends that Guests be fully vaccinated or obtain a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the Disneyland Resort, and (2) all Guests (ages 2 and up) must wear face coverings when indoors, including on many attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles.
Does the California mask mandate impact your travel plans this winter season? Let us know in the comments.