California authorities will allow people to watch Major League Baseball games and other sporting events, go to Disneyland and watch live performances in limited capacities beginning April 1.
The rules announced on Friday coincide with the opening day of baseball. San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics have home games scheduled for April 1.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s top public health official, said the state is taking action now because rates of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are decreasing while the number of people receiving the vaccine is increasing.
“Today’s announcement is focused on building some of the compelling science about how the virus behaves and how activities, when done in a certain way, can reduce the risk,” said Ghaly.
Friday’s announcement refers only to outdoor activities. Participation in internal events, including NBA games and concerts, is still prohibited. Creating rules for internal events is “much more difficult,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior adviser to the governor and director of the governor’s Office of Economic and Business Development.
“We will continue to work on this. We will be back in the coming weeks and will try to update this so that we can provide more visibility and a way forward for more business,” said Myers.
California classifies its counties according to four color-coded levels based on the spread of the virus. The purple layer is the most restrictive, followed by red, orange and yellow. Frequency caps are based on the level the county is at.
Theme parks can open in the red layer at 15% capacity and only people who live in California can buy tickets. The participation limits increase to 25% in the orange layer and 35% in the yellow layer. Indoor walks are allowed because they are short and allow for adequate spacing.
Outdoor sports are limited to 100 people in the purple layer. These limits increase to 20% of the capacity in the red layer, 33% in the orange layer and 67% in the yellow layer.
Teams can sell tickets regionally in the purple layer and across the state in the other layers. No concessions are allowed on the purple layer. In other tiers, concessions will be limited to seat purchases.