California Allows MLB, Disneyland to Reopen in COVID Restriction Rollbacks
California will allow people to attend MLB games and go to Disneyland in limited capacities, starting April 1, the state announced Friday.
The announcement of the COVID-19 rule reductions is set to begin the same day as the MLB's opening day.
The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics all have home games scheduled for April 1, the Associated Press reports.
As the number of vaccinated individuals is increasing, California’s top public health official Dr. Mark Ghaly said the rates of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are declining.
“Today’s announcement is focused on building in some of the compelling science about how the virus behaves, and how activities when done a certain way can reduce risk,” Ghaly said.
The state said the announcement only pertains to outdoor activities and attendance for indoor events — including NBA games and concerts — are still prohibited.
Dee Dee Myers, senior advisor to the governor said coming up with rules for indoor events is “much more difficult."
“We will continue to work on that we’ll come back over the next couple of weeks and try to update this so that we can provide more visibility and a path forward for more businesses,” Myers said.
So, how many people will be allowed to attend the outdoor events?
California divides its counties into four color-coded tiers based on the spread of the virus to determine capacity limitations, the AP reports.
The purple tier is the most restrictive, followed by red, orange and yellow. Attendance limits are based on what tier a county is in.
Outdoor sports are limited to 100 people in the purple tier. Those limits increase to 20% capacity in the red tier, 33% in the orange tier and 67% in the yellow tier.
"Teams can sell tickets regionally in the purple tier and statewide in the other tiers," the article reads. "No concessions are allowed in the purple tier. In other tiers, concessions will be limited to in-seat purchases."
Theme parks can open in the red tier at 15% capacity and only people who live in California can buy tickets. Attendance limits increase to 25% in the orange tier and 35% in the yellow tier.
Despite indoor events and sporting games not being permitted, indoor rides are allowed because they are short and allow for proper spacing, the article states.
President of the local United Food and Commercial Workers Union Andrea Zinder said Disneyland employees are “heartened by this good news.”
“They have been furloughed or out of a job for a year now and are excited to go back to work to provide Californians with a bit more magic in their lives,” Zinder said, per the AP.