Visitors over the age of 12 to Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain will soon have to prove they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recently tested negative before entering.
The new requirement, outlined in a recently issued Los Angeles County health order, begins Oct. 7, meaning it will be in effect during the busy weeks leading up to Halloween.
Neither Orange County, where the Disneyland Resort and Knott’s Berry Farm are located, nor San Diego County, where Legoland and SeaWorld are located, have indicated they plan to adopt requirements as stringent as those in Los Angeles County.
This is how the new requirement will work:
What documents will I need?
To prove their vaccination status, visitors can show a physical or digital vaccination card, which must include their name, the type of vaccine provided and the date of the last dose.
Test results can be displayed as a printout from the administrator or lab, or as an email or text message displayed on a phone. These records should include the person’s name, the type of test performed, and the negative result. Examinations must have been taken within 72 hours prior to entry.
Children under the age of 12, who are eligible to be vaccinated, are not required to submit documentation of a negative coronavirus test.
Should I still wear a mask?
Yes, unless you are actively eating or drinking.
Los Angeles County’s outdoor mask order, issued in August, applies to outdoor events with 10,000 or more attendees, so-called mega-events.
California health officials did not initially include theme parks in the order, but added them later.
In Orange County, some theme parks have adopted mask requirements that go beyond those outlined by the local health department.
The Disneyland Resort, for example, requires guests ages 2 and older to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. Knott’s Berry Farm follows a state requirement that unimmunized people must wear masks in closed public settings, though visitors do not have to show proof of inoculation before entering.
Will I also have to show a photo ID?
Not immediately. However, beginning November 1, Los Angeles County health officials will require adult customers to show photo identification, along with proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test.
Those under the age of 18 will not need to show a photo ID.
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the delay was granted because theme park operators said they needed time to prepare for long lines if customers had to show two documents instead of one.
Why have health officials imposed these requirements?
Ferrer said he saw the new rules as an important tool to stave off another potential winter wave of coronavirus.
Although 60.6% of Los Angeles County residents of all ages are fully vaccinated, this figure remains considerably lower than what some experts believe is necessary to achieve herd immunity, in which sustained transmission largely disappears of the virus.
Some experts have calculated that at least 84% of residents will need to have immunity to the virus to reach herd immunity, but the threshold could be even higher.
“We have to anticipate a possible winter surge. And we have to go to those high-risk areas” and take steps to limit the transmission of the coronavirus, Ferrer told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Sometimes, he said, that means moving forward with stricter measures than those dictated by the state.
In theme parks, there are thousands of people in close contact with each other for long periods of time.
“We’ve spent time at the theme parks, and I can tell you that when they’re full, when they hit that threshold, they’re super crowded,” Ferrer said. “Our inspectors were at the ‘Terror Nights’ at both locations. And it was packed with people screaming. In addition, many people in all the places of the event do not wear masks and are eating, drinking and walking. So there is risk there.”
What do the theme parks say?
Officials from Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags say they will abide by the new rules, though not without some discontent.
A Universal Studios spokeswoman, Audrey Eig, said county health officials didn’t show enough “willingness to understand the complexities of our business” and didn’t give the parks enough time to resolve the logistical issues created by the policy before it was released. go into effect.
Six Flags officials said they felt Magic Mountain shouldn’t be subject to the same type of measures that apply to large outdoor sports arenas.
“Our visitors do not sit next to unrelated people for long periods of time, and we have ample room for people to socially distance,” the park said in a statement.
Theme park experts have predicted that proof of vaccination or testing requirements will likely create long and frustrating lines.
Eig declined to say how the park will keep the lines moving quickly, except to say: “We are working through the operational and staffing challenges to manage this new order as efficiently as possible.”
Six Flags said it would comply with the county’s mandate and “work to create an efficient process to verify visitors’ vaccinations or negative tests.”
What do elected officials have to say?
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also expressed her displeasure that Six Flags has been caught off guard by the new requirement, which the park says is unfair given declining rates of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. by COVID-19 and the absence of such regulations in neighboring counties.
“I would hope that in the future, as we roll out new public health orders that affect different sectors, that we bring that same sector into the dialogue, so that we can be more sensitive to the fact that we do not understand their industry, “he said.
Ferrer lamented that prior publicity for the two parks hadn’t been better, adding that county officials themselves were surprised when the state reclassified large theme parks as mega-events.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl expressed her support for the new vaccination or test requirement to enter the theme parks, noting that they attract many visitors from around the country during the winter holidays.
“We have a huge number of visitors from all over the country, including red states with very high infection rates,” Kuehl said. “It is a very dangerous time for us. And I think everyone knows that.”
Theme parks have been the sites of previous outbreaks, Kuehl said, referencing the Disneyland measles outbreak in late 2014 and early 2015 that was ultimately linked to more than 100 measles cases in eight states, Canada and Mexico.
Kuehl urged theme parks “to do everything possible to protect everyone who comes out to have a good time. Because they don’t come to get sick.”
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