The Mayor of Orange County Florida, in which the vast majority of the Walt Disney World Resort is located, has issued a stay at home order that will prevent residents from non-essential travel through at least April 9th. This pushes back any potential reopening date for Walt Disney World until at least mid-April.
Update: 5/25 – Osceola County, Orange County’s southern neighbor, has passed a similar stay at home order running the same time frame.
Disney has not yet issued an official update to their announcement that they would remain closed through March 31, but they have also said that they would follow the guidelines and suggestions of government and health officials.
Universal Orlando Resort, and its Hollywood cousin, has already announced it would remains closed through at least April 19th.
The order starts Thursday March 25 at 11pm and run through at least April 9. Only essential travel is allowed. That includes traveling to work if you have an essential job, the grocery or for medical needs (such as a doctor visit or to a pharmacy). You’re also allowed to exercise. You are not allowed to visit friends or hang out in even small groups.
A stay at home order combined with a widespread testing and tracing program is the first step to an effective Coronavirus containment program. Neighboring counties are also expected to issue similar orders in the coming days to make the containment efforts more effective.
This is a developing story.