DREAM DELAYED
DISNEYLAND has postponed reopening its California theme parks on July 17 after a 70 percent spike in coronavirus cases in-state.
The phased reopening of and Disney Adventure will be delayed and no new date has been given as of June 24.
Disney's flagship theme parks were supposed to enter the phased reopening process in mid-July but the coronavirus crisis has ensured the grounds will remain shuttered.
Disney told The Sun this reopening was "pending government approvals" and that California "will not issue theme park reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4."
"Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials," their spokesperson said on Wednesday night.
"Once we have a clearer understanding of when guidelines will be released, we expect to be able to communicate a reopening date.
"Our Downtown Disney District will reopen on July 9 as previously announced with health and safety protocols in place for our cast members and guests."
Disney said the reopening of the Downtown Disney District is in-keeping with the other restaurants and retail outlets reopening throughout the state.
But Disney will have speak with their union before the Anaheim city theme park can get back to business.
"We have had positive discussions and are very pleased to have signed agreements from 20 union affiliates, including the Master Services Council, which represents more than 11,000 of our cast members," their representative said in a statement.
The company indicated that these agreement plans include increased safety protocols.
"We thank our cast and guests for their patience during this unprecedented time while we await approval from government officials," it read.
In a June 18 letter to California Gov Gavin Newsom, the unions said it is still unsafe to open, according to .
Meanwhile, 50,341 people have signed a urging Disney to delay its reopening.
The news comes after more than as many states prematurely reopened.
At least seven states have reported the highest rates of hospitalizations since the virus emerged on American soil after it was first detected in Wuhan, – and California is one of them.
reported that , , , , , and are all experiencing more people being admitted to hospital with the deadly bug.
On Tuesday, California set a new record when hospitalizations exploded by 29 percent over the past two weeks and the number of ICU patients rose by 18 percent.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Newsom begged residents to adhere to the face covering and social distancing guidelines as cases surged.
"Everybody cares about somebody and somebody else," he told reporters.
"If that's the case, demonstrate it. Prove it. Protect others by wearing a face covering.
The democratic governor warned the counties "flouting" the rules and regulations that they would lose state funding, saying "we're going to attach some considerations, some consequences to that."
Elsewhere, in , petitioners are pressuring Disney to delay the July 11 reopening of Walt Disney World in Orlando.
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The petition was created a Disney World Attractions hostess Katie Belisle, who addressed ot to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings.
“This virus is not gone, unfortunately it’s only become worse in this state,” the petition says.
“Having our theme parks remain closed until cases are steadily decreasing would keep our guests, our employees and their families safe.”
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