ORLANDO, Fla. — A day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its mask guidelines for outdoor activities, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings modified the county’s COVID-19 safety protocols — potentially opening the door for Central Florida's theme parks to adjust their guidelines as well.

​As part of the county's update, its face covering rule will be eased out in phases. Phase 1, which went into effect Wednesday, reduces the physical distancing requirement from 6 to 3 feet “in all settings.”

The major theme parks such as Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando have health and safety measures that were put in place when they reopened last summer. Among those is a requirement for guests to maintain 6 feet of physical distancing when in line and at restaurants. Ground markers and signage in the parks have served as a guide.

With the new rules from county officials, however, the parks could reduce physical distancing at the parks and even increase capacity in the process.

During the news conference Wednesday, Demings said he had been talking with theme park officials about the county’s plans.

“Yes, we’ve had communication with them,” Demings said. “They will make some adjustments. I believe that the adjustments they will make will be based upon keeping their guests safe. And this allows them, as they manage the lines and other things for those outdoor types of settings, and even indoors, they are able to increase capacity as a result of that.”

So far, none of the theme parks have made any changes to their policies.

Universal Orlando told Spectrum News that it will continue to operate under its existing protocols while it reviews the county’s plan.

“The health and safety of our guests and team members is always our top priority,” Universal Orlando spokesman Tom Schroder said. “We appreciate the Mayor’s leadership and will review his plan along with CDC guidelines. We will continue to work with local health officials as we determine how to move forward in a way that is best for our guests, our team members and our business.”

Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando have not responded to requests for comment; we will update this article if they respond.

The theme parks also require guests to wear face masks when visiting.

The county’s phased plan won't lift the face mask requirements for outdoors until Phase 2, which calls for 50% of the population 16 and older to have received at least the first dose of an approved-for-emergency-use COVID-19 vaccine.