Universal Orlando Resort announced today that, effective Friday, masks would be required in indoor portions of the park such as restaurants, shops, and indoor hotel public areas. They will likewise be mandatory “at all attractions from the moment guests enter the queue to when they exit the experience.” The mask requirement applies to workers as well as resort guests. Proof of vaccination, however, is not required to enter the resort.
The park is open every day through the end of the year.
The move comes as Florida is experiencing a surge in Covid infections, likely tied at least in part to the spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant, which President Biden said this week now accounts for at least 73% of all new U.S. cases.
The Sunshine State recorded 8,892 new cases and a 3% test positivity rate on November 30 according to the CDC. By December 17, it was seeing 28,841 new cases daily and had a 7-day average test positivity rate of 4%.
The text describing the new requirements on the Universal Orlando Resort web site reads in part:
…face coverings will now be required, effective Friday, December 24, 2021, at all public indoor locations within Universal Orlando Resort for both guests and team members regardless of vaccination status – including restaurants, shops, and indoor hotel public areas. Face coverings are also required at all attractions from the moment guests enter the queue to when they exit the experience.