The mandatory nature of this security measure will affect both visitors and staff.
The Mask use will once again be mandatory at Universal Orlando theme park from central Florida (USA) starting next Friday, given the rebound in infections by coronavirus that on Tuesday reached the daily figure of 20,000 new cases in the state.
“The health and safety of our guests and the team is always our top priority,” so the use of a mask will be “required” as of Friday, December 24 “in all covered public locations within” the park, he said. Wednesday in a Universal Orlando Resort statement.
The mandatory nature of this security measure will affect both visitors and staff, “regardless of the vaccination status”, and must be complied with in all interior spaces, including restaurants, shops and public areas of the hotel.
Use of masks at attractions and indoors
Masks will also be required at all visitor attractions, “from the time they stand in line” until they leave the show.
But nevertheless, No proof or vaccination passport will be required.
The return to the mandatory mask at Universal Orlando comes as Florida approaches the contagion levels of last summer.
Thus, the state reported 20,194 new COVID-19 infections to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this Tuesday alone, the largest daily rise since September 1.
After weeks with an average of less than 2,000 daily cases of coronavirus in Florida, alarms jumped last Friday when 29,568 new infections were registered for the period from December 10 to 16, a figure much higher than the previous week (13,530 cases), and with the omicron variant already detected in 39 US states.
The figures for new cases had remained somewhat stable this fall and well below the more than 21,000 daily reported this summer, which peaked in August with more than 150,000 weekly infections and a positivity rate of over 20 %.
But everything indicates that the speed of expansion of the omicron variant has changed this decreasing trend and, according to experts, it is very likely that its peak in Florida will be reached next February.
The mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, said today at a press conference that the use of masks is once again mandatory inside public and county-dependent buildings, while reporting the opening of new points of test, due to the rebound of the coronavirus and the demand for tests.
Long queues of vehicles at rapid test points
Aerial images from local media showed long lines of vehicles at rapid test centers such as Tropical Park in Miami, which offer results in 24 hours.
Levine Cava also referred to his efforts to obtain more monoclonal antibody treatments for distribution in the county to people who have symptoms and test positive for COVID-19.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized this Wednesday the emergency use of the pill from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer against COVID-19, the first oral treatment that Americans will be able to take at home.
However, local authorities such as Levine Cava insist that the complete vaccination schedule and the booster dose are the best methods of protection against the pandemic and the escalation of infections, with the Christmas celebrations already on.
According to data from the Florida Department of Health last Friday, the state had a total of 3’739,348 confirmed cases of coronavirus and the number of vaccinated was 70% of the population.
Despite the significant increase in new cases, State Governor Ron DeSantis has not yet taken any closure measures, but announced that a new monoclonal antibody treatment from AstraZeneca will soon be available for people with serious health problems or experiencing adverse reactions. to the vaccine.
The speed with which this variant is spreading is such that, in Miami-Dade, about 80% of new infections in the last two weeks are due to omicron, according to David Andrews, a pathologist at the University of Miami (UM) , picked up on Local 10 channel.
In fact, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English), Rochelle Walensky, focused on which omicron will be the predominant variant of the coronavirus in the coming weeks in the United States. (I)
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