SACRAMENTO, California (AP) – California has paved a path for fans to take to the stands during opening day baseball games and return to Disneyland for nearly a year after coronavirus restrictions closed major entertainment venues.
The state relaxed its guidelines for outdoor reopening on Friday as a fall and winter wave seemed to be ending, with COVID-19 infection rates, hospital admissions and deaths plummeting and vaccination coverage increasing.
New public health rules would allow live concerts in stadiums and sports arenas to reopen with limited attendance on April 1. Amusement parks will also be allowed to reopen in counties that have fallen from the purple tier of the state – the most restrictive – to the red tier.
In all cases, park capacity will be limited and COVID-19 safety rules, such as mask-wearing requirements, will apply.
The move followed a week of milestones, with California ramping up vaccinations for the poorest neighborhoods, counties reopening more businesses and government Gavin Newsom passing a measure to encourage schools that have restricted students from online learning to reopen classrooms this month. .
“Steady opening is consistent with the data. With the number of cases declining, we want to get back to work and school, ”said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, clinical professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California. “Outdoor activities in particular have always been a low risk. It makes sense to access these sites. “
The reopening couldn’t come too soon for Kenny King Jr., a resident of Pleasant Hill in the San Francisco Bay Area who became an annual Disneyland pass holder a decade ago. He usually takes his family to the park in Southern California five times a year, but the last visit was just over a year ago for his birthday.
King, 38, lives in and said he is excited to return with his 8-year-old daughter, who was just starting to enjoy rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain, and to bring his 2-year-old son. who was mesmerized by the lights and sounds when he came to visit last year.
“That’s something we’ve just made our family thing: Disney trips,” said King. “Sometimes we’ll sit there by the house and we’ll be like ‘man, I just miss Disneyland’.
Also applauding were the thousands of workers laid off by Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott’s Berry Farm, and other major venues. Ten thousand lost their jobs only at Disneyland and its related Orange County attractions, not to mention the knock-on effect on nearby restaurants and hotels.
Andrea Zinder, president of the local United Food and Commercial Workers Union representing Disney employees, said employees are “excited to get back to work and bring a little more magic into their lives for Californians.”
Most of the major theme parks are located in Southern California, which still falls into the purple category. However, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties there expected to reopen within the next few weeks as their COVID-19 numbers drop.
Only 16 of the 58 provinces are currently in the red level and two small provinces are in the orange level. None of them are still in the yellow layer, the lowest and least restrictive.
Theme parks in the red level are limited to 15% capacity.
Outdoor sports are limited to 100 people in the purple level, but will increase to 67% in the yellow level.
The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A’s have all announced that they will have fans in the stands for opening day. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants both begin their seasons on the road and said they would announce their plans later.
Teams and event organizers can only sell regional tickets in the purple tier. At the other levels, teams and organizers can sell tickets to anyone living in California. Concessions are not allowed in the purple tier, while in other concession sales are only available on seats.
Richard Haick of San Pablo, California, has already bought tickets for the return of the Oakland A and hopes to bring his 10-year-old son to a game soon. His son plays baseball in the Little League and is very excited to attend games.
“It’s nice to have a sense of normal even in a limited capacity,” said Haick, a 45-year-old photographer.
The faster reopening rate is linked to a new plan to vaccinate California’s most vulnerable residents. Once 2 million people with 400 zip codes in the most deprived neighborhoods get at least one vaccination dose, it will be easier for counties to leave the state’s most restrictive level. Once 4 million people in those neighborhoods are vaccinated, counties will be able to open even more.
It all puts California in a drastically different position from a year ago, when Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a statewide restraining order that restricted travel, halted businesses and forced millions of people into unemployment. California still has one of the strictest restrictions of any state and continues to discourage out-of-state visitors.
The state is hoping for a full reopening of inoculating enough of its 40 million residents to stop widespread COVID-19 infections.
More than 10 million doses had not been given until three months after the first injection, the Health Ministry said.
Just over 3 million people are fully vaccinated, or about 10% of the population aged 16 and over.
There are hopeful signs. This week, the seven-day average number of positive test results dropped to 2.2% this week, a record low.
While pressure is mounting to reopen the economy, health officials said the changes in guidelines were a cautious and measured approach rather than a blanket one.
“We will … keep our foot on the brakes, not on the accelerator, our eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and navigating based on data and science,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the State Health and Human Services Bureau.
Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this story.