Orange County is getting closer and closer to a full reopening.
During Mayor Jerry Demings’ daily news conference on the coronavirus pandemic, he shared that 55 percent of Orange County residents over the age of 16 have received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine. In addition, the 14-day rolling positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in the county was at 4.5%.
With the rate of vaccination over 50%, Orange County has moved into the second phase of their three-tiered reopening plan. As such, all outdoor mask mandates have been lifted. (Though it’s questionable how enforceable any mask mandate is under Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent executive orders.)
The third and final phase of Orange County’s reopening plan will be triggered when the positivity rate is below 5% in the county for 14 days (or when 70 percent of the county has been vaccinated). It appears that the county might meet the former goal first, as its been below 5% for 11 days. Phase Three amounts to a full reopening of Orange County, with no masking or social distancing requirements.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2021.