Orange County Moves Into Red Tier Earlier Than Expected, Allowing For More Businesses To Reopen Including Theme Parks to CA Residents

Orange County (home of Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm) is ready to move into the Red Tier on Sunday, where the less restrictive guidelines will allow more businesses to open, according to ABC7.

What’s Happening:

  • Orange County, CA is set to move into the less restrictive Red Tier on Sunday, which will allow for more businesses, including gyms and movie theaters, to reopen at a reduced capacity, and indoor dining will be allowed once again.
  • Originally planning to move into the Red Tier by Wednesday, Orange County was actually allowed to open up earlier since the state met its goal of inoculating 2 million Californians in underprivileged communities where COVID-19 was spreading more widely. The state allowed for higher case rates to move up from Purple to Red, where Orange County had two weeks of credit for meeting that standard.
  • Reportedly, under the previous guidelines, Orange County would have qualified for the Red Tier around St. Patrick’s Day.
  • This means that movie theaters and gyms can reopen at a reduced capacity, and indoor dining can resume. Good news for the restaurants around the county as well as those at Downtown Disney and the Buena Vista Street expansion of the Downtown Disney District, like the Carthay Circle restaurant.
  • It also means that theme parks in the county (Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and Knott’s Berry Farm) can theoretically reopen on April 1st to California residents only, under new guidelines in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Blueprint Refresh,” with new guidelines that state that Starting April 1st, theme parks can reopen at 15% capacity in the red/substantial tier 2, with capacity levels shifting with the next tiers, Orange/Moderate tier 3, and yellow/minimal tier 4.
  • Disney CEO Bob Chapek revealed during The Walt Disney Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders shared that Disneyland is planning to reopen in “Late April,” and Knott’s Berry Farm announced just today that they are planning to reopen the park in May.
  • Aside from the parks, the guidelines state that retail stores could allow for half capacity instead of 25%, and museums, zoos and aquariums could reopen for indoor activities at 25% capacity, along with the aforementioned gyms, movie theaters, and restaurants. Wineries, breweries and distilleries can reopen for outdoor business only.

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