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Disney had originally planned to reopen the Disneyland Park and
Disney California Adventure Park on July 17.
"California has now indicated that it will not issue theme park
reopening guidelines until sometime after July 4," Disney said
in a statement on Wednesday.
An alarming surge in coronavirus infection rates around the
country have prompted calls for a delay in reopening of theme
parks and other facilities where big crowds gather.
California witnessed its largest ever spike in confirmed new
cases on Tuesday, with an additional 7,149 infections taking the
state total to 190,222.
Disney had received pushback from unions representing 17,000
workers at its Disneyland Resort in Southern California, who
said they were not convinced the theme park would be safe enough
to reopen by the company's target date.
It has also come under pressure to delay the July 11 reopening
of its Orlando, Florida-based Walt Disney World.
Disney began closing its theme parks around the world in January
in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Disney in
early May said measures to contain the pandemic had cuts its
profits by $1.4 billion, most from its shuttered theme parks.
Disney started reopening its theme parks in May, starting with
Shanghai Disneyland, and last week reopened Hong Kong
Disneyland. In Florida, it has partially reopened its Disney
Springs entertainment and shopping complex.
The company did not provide a new reopening date for its
California parks and said it would provide one when it has a
better sense of the guidelines, when they are released by the
state.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra
Maler, Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast.)
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